


Strawberry Kisses

by jediluke



Category: Star Wars
Genre: Alternate Universe, Blowjobs, Caught... kinda, Coffee Shop, Dopheld Mitaka - Freeform, Finn (Star Wars) (mentioned) - Freeform, Finnpoe (mentioned), Flashbacks, Gentle Sex, Hux goes through Kylo’s pornhub history, Hux is becoming hyper-aware, Hux works at an ice cream shop, I Had To, IKEA Furniture, Kink mentions, Kylo draws, Kylux - Freeform, M/M, Milkshake AU ?, Modern AU, NSFW, Phasma (mentioned) - Freeform, Poe Dameron (Mentioned) - Freeform, Rose Tico (mentioned) - Freeform, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Smut, Stories from the past, Strawberry Milkshake trope, Things get soft, chaptered fic, degration kink, dom!hux, emotion spilling, glasses!kylo ren, lots of feelings, more kinks coming soon, more nsfw, rain storms, shared baths, soft musings, sub!Kylo, tags will update every chapter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-02
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-06-20 10:44:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 25,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15532521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jediluke/pseuds/jediluke
Summary: "Do I know you from somewhere?" Hux looked at the stranger, who still had a straw from his milkshake tucked between his lips. The man looked up,"Do you?" He asked. The question repeated in Hux's head and pulled at something deep inside of him.





	1. Strawberry Milkshake

Hux looked like a walking disaster. 

Strands of hair clung to his flushed forehead. An awful mixture of sweat and ice cream made every inch of him feel sticky.  
If it wasn't for the money, he would've walked out a long time ago.  
Instead he found himself trying to get a jammed spindle out from the milkshake mixer while leftover ice cream dropped off of it onto his face. 

The little bell on the door to the shop rang, making Hux jump. He smacked his head on the spindle, coincidentally with enough force that he knocked it loose.

"Fuck-" He muttered, tossing it into the sink before turning around to greet the customer hanging a black jacket off the top of the red-pleather, cracked stools at the parlor bar. Hux swallowed something down.  
The man's lengthy black hair fell in his face as he sat down, bony pale hands set down a brown leather-bound journal. 

"Hi- can I get you anything?" He asked. The customer looked up and tilted his head to the side as he studied Hux for a moment. He looked like he was looking for something.

"Strawberry milkshake is fine, thanks." The corners of his mouth threatened to pull up onto a smile- but he looked down to open the journal in front of him before Hux could see if the smile would spill out or not. 

He wrestled the frozen cream out of its bucket and scooped it into a stainless steal cup. He let the only still working spindle mix the ice cream into a liquid, little drops of pink sputtering out and landing on his apron. The pink liquid poured smoothly from the mixing cup to the clear glass. Hux topped it off with whipped cream and two strawberry slices 

He turned on his heel and sat the drink down in front of him, careful not to put it near his journal.  
The man looked up, his cheeks flushing. 

"Fresh strawberries?" He asked quietly, quickly shutting his journal. 

"Is that okay? Sorry- probably should've asked-"

The man holds his hand up, silencing him. 

"No no- love it. They're my favorite actually." He smiled that time. 

Something familiar tugged inside of Hux. 

He couldn't recognize the source. 

Hux picked up a wet rag and started cleaning down part of the counter,

"Do I know you from somewhere?" Hux asked suddenly. The man shifted on the stool. 

"Do you?" He questioned back. 

Hux chewed on his lip, staring down at the counter. It glistened under the florecent lighting of the shop. 

"Sorry- forget it. Hit my head before, I must not just be thinking straight." He shook his head, throwing the rag into the bucket. 

He didn't notice the man's shoulders drop. 

He brought the straw between his lips and took a drink of his milkshake. A low moan came from the back of his throat when it hit his tongue. He looked at Hux,

"Holy shit, this is incredible." He mumbled, making Hux laugh,

"Glad you enjoy it." He looked out the front of the shop, noticing the sun setting. 

The sky was a deep pink, making the fluffy, yellowing clouds standout. 

Hux wished he wasn't always working while the sun was setting.  
He missed not having to watch them through glass windows. 

He was oblivious to the fact that the customer was watching him as he watched the sunset, straw still trapped between his lips. 

The customer looked away, staring down at his drink as he dug the strawberry slices out of the whipped cream before they fell too far out of reach. 

Both men were too preoccupied to notice that they were the only two left inside the ice cream shop. 

Hux, for perhaps the first time, was in no rush to close. The guy was friendly, 

maybe he'd leave a good tip. 

Hux started putting the covers on all the ice cream containers, humming along to the music playing on the tiny radio. 

The owner of the shop insisted on only playing oldies. Something about adding to the atmosphere. 

Hux hated it. 

Not that he had anything against Sinatra, in fact, Hux had no clue what his music taste was. His playlists depended more on his mood rather than just being specific musicians.  
He did have quite a particular taste for jazz, however. 

Hux dissapeared into the back room for a moment, setting the freezers to their overnight settings. His fingers scanned over the keypad, typing in the codes he needed to ensure closing went smoothly. He went back into the main dining area with a sigh, stopping suddenly as he looked at the counter. 

The customer was gone. All that remained was an empty milkshake glass and money. 

Hux's eyes grew wide as he looked at the slightly crumpled green paper on the counter. With shaking hands, he picked it up and counted it. The man had left a a ten dollar tip. He couldn't remember ever getting a tip that big. It would get him a little more extra than the bare bones at the grocery store for the week. A small piece of paper floated down from between the few dollar bills Hux bent down to retrieve it.  
A tiny, pencil drawn smiley face stared up at him. He stuffed it in the pocket of his black jeans. 

\--

Hux groaned at his reflection in the mirror. The dirty, water spotted mirror in his bathroom which was long overdue for a fresh coat of paint. He hadn't repainted it after he moved in, and it was still the same sickly, faded shade of yellow. 

Dried ice cream covered the side of his face. It plastered his ginger hair to his forehead. 

He wondered why his hair gel hadn't held everything back out of his face. 

Hux stripped down and went in the shower. He scrubbed harshly at his face, trying desperately to get the ice cream off his face and out of his hair.

It was a daily occurrence, and Hux was sure he'd never one hundred percent get all of the ice cream off of him. He let the hot water run down his back. His back and arms would be splotched with red after every shower, but it was the only way he could clear his head.  
Once it was unbearable, he got out and grabbed his phone from the counter. Hux sat naked on the cold tiles of his bathroom floor, scrolling absentmindedly through his phone. It wasn't like he had any friend to text. He was in a constant battle with himself, debating between if he would just live better on his own or if he desperately just wanted someone to invite him to something. Anything. Of course, there were people he talked to in passing, but it had been a long time since he opened up to anyone. 

He opened up MySpace and just like always, questioned why he still had it. It was filled with old, bad memories, old classmates from high school that he hadn't bothered to speak with since the moment he left graduation. 

His lashes brushed against his skin as he stared at a status update from one of his old classmates. Poe Dameron.  
He had been one of those kids that was involved in everything. President of the student council, head of stage crew for the drama club, and, from what Hux had heard, an incredible snare player in the marching band.  
(Hux would've been happy to see the band perform, but couldn't be assed to drag himself to a football game.) Dameron's status contained a picture of him and Finn, both in tuxes. 

They were engaged.

He clicked into the picture, studying them for a minute. Poe still looked the same, ruggedly handsome face, a head full of dark curls. Hux couldn't help but notice the few grey hairs poking through and mixing in with the dark ones.  
Finn had muscled up, hair had grown a little longer the the short cut he rememberd him having. Finn had been valedictorian, and rightfully earned it. He was one of the smartest guys Hux had ever met. 

He liked the status and shut off his phone completely. Still wet, he slipped a bit when he stood up, but he quickly grabbed for the counter for support. Once again he stared at himself in the mirror. An engagement. Hux felt his stomach twist inside of him. 

"Fuck.." He whispered, tugging on clothes. He slammed his hands on the counter, pulling back quickly as he instantly regretted his decision.  
His hands prickled with pain as he glared into the mirror, eyes getting glossy as he held back tears. He couldn't look at himself any longer. 

Storming down the hallway he tugged his shoes on, barely grabbing his apartment key off of the hook before slamming the door behind him.  
He needed fresh air. 

It probably wasn't healthy that he spent so much time indoors. But with his job he didn't have much of a choice. 

Hux kept walking, not really knowing where he was going or where he'd end up. It didn't really matter. Yet, he found himself at Curtley park. He sat down on one of the brown benches under the dim yellow light. He brought his knees up into his chest, and let his head fall between them. It was never something he would admit out loud, but Hux had always hated being alone. He had isolated himself for too long, and it was starting to affect him. 

He needed someone- anyone. Finn and Poe Dameron. 

"What the hell did they do right." He whispered, voice quivering. 

They were engaged, that was something Hux had never even put a thought on. Sure, he had a few boyfriends in his life, and even tried to date a girl before he realized that he was gay. None of them stuck. None of Hux's friends had stuck either.

He always convinced himself that it was their faults. That they had lost out on something wonderful and- that wasn't it. Hux was coming to realize this. It wasn't them- it was him. He was sure of it.  
They all had the same thing in common, him. One hundred thoughts were running through his head. 

"I push everyone away.." He realized, his chest raising and falling heavily. Everyone who had ever tried to care for him, even Poe fucking Dameron, a guy that was doing nothing more than trying to be nice had even been crushed by Hux. 

He was sure of it.

\-- 

Hux didn't get back to his appartment until shortly after midnight. His eyes were red and slightly swollen. He had used what little energy he had left to walk home. Toeing off his brown shoes, he could barely make it to his couch. He sprawled out on its rough cushions and raked his hands through his hair.  
A date wouldn't kill him, but trying to find someone just might. With a groan he took his phone out of his back pocket and waited for it to turn on. 

His thumb hovered over the App Store, but he couldn't bring himself to even try to download a dating app. It sounded worse than trying to make a face to face connection with someone. 

So he opened up Spotify instead, scrolling through his playlist before going back to the main screen. He once again hesitated, but clicked on a lovesong playlist. It couldn't hurt. Besides, Hux didn't mind acoustic songs, and the acoustic guitar filling his ears brought some calm to his racing mind. 

It took awhile, but Hux managed to calm down and quiet his head. He found himself wanting to be with someone else. Someone else who would make his dump of an apartment seem a little less quiet. 

He wanted someone he could talk to. 

He didn't know how to feel about it, it was something he hadn't felt in a long time. Yet his thoughts began to trail away from the music that surrounded him. 

Hux couldn't help but think about the stranger in the shop.


	2. Teach Me About The Renaissance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He stopped, stared out the window for a moment before walking across the room and throwing himself onto his bed.  
> Kylo pulled his journal out from under his pillow. The newest written in page was a cluster of drawings. They were no good by any means, most of them were smudged, the cheap blue pen he had used refused to settle into the paper.

It wasn't what Kylo had been expecting. Yet, he wasn't quite prepared to not have Hux remember him at all.  
It had only been six years- not that he was counting. 

Kylo wasn't sure what happened. 

He was silently trying to convince himself that maybe Hux had caught amnesia. It saved him from the pain of his mind telling him that the man completely blocked him out of his life, out of his memory. Kylo paced in his tiny apartment in near silence except for when his socked feet would make the floor creak below him.  
He stopped, stared out the window for a moment before walking across the room and throwing himself onto his bed.  
Kylo pulled his journal out from under his pillow. The newest written in page was a cluster of drawings. They were no good by any means, most of them were smudged, the cheap blue pen he had used refused to settle into the paper. But they were all sketches of Hux- he felt so stupid for doing them now. 

"He's playing me... he-" had there been some hint of sarcasm that he didn't pick up on? A small laugh left his throat, Hux had always been a joker. In fact, that was one of the reasons they had gotten so close in High School. Kylo had erased every possible memory of high school except for the ones with Hux. 

He once again stared at the smudgey drawings, focusing on one where he had a goofy looking smile on his face. It seemed so out of place, 

but it Kylo's favorite memory. 

\-- SIX YEARS EARLIER--

The two had gone to a movie- some lame kids film that Kylo couldn't place the title of. Their history midterms were coming up and he was helping Hux study. 

Hux was too easily distracted, his five minute breaks would turn into ten, which would turn into him not wanting to study at all.  
(He'd never admit to it, but it was much easier for the man to study with Kylo's help.)

'Hey Ren, you wanna help me study?' The text came across Kylo's phone. He swiped down the message,

'history?? sure, where?' As soon as the message was marked as read, the doorbell rang. Kylo scrambled, throwing all of his stuff off of his lap and onto his bed. He looked around, muttering under his breath.  
He grabbed an armful of dirty clothes from off of his floor and shoved it into his closet. He threw his white pillows into neatish stacks at the top of his bed. It looked as good as it could for what little time Kylo had to clean it. There was no doubt in his mind that Hux's room was probably always clean- not that he had ever seen it. Grabbing a hair tie off of his bedside table, he threw the hair wrapped around it into the trash can and threw his hair up while running to the door- it was knotted up in places from his neglect to comb it that morning. He was now regretting it, but he also wasn't expecting Hux to come over. He would've put a little more effort in if he had known. 

Kylo swung the door open, chest rising and falling heavily. Hux raised an eyebrow, clutching his textbook closer to his chest,

"You alright Ren? Catch you in the middle of watching one of those old weird workout videos?" Hux asked, stepping inseide before toeing off his shoes. 

"Wh- no! No, just didn't expect you to be standing at my door when you asked to come study." Kylo laughed, leading him back down the hall to his room. 

"Well? Would you have said no if I was not standing at your door?" 

"Of course not- I'm perfectly fine with helping you I just would've made sure we had snacks of something." 

Hux laughed,  
"We don't need snacks Ren, Im fine. I'm just stuck on one period in particular, it shouldn't be take long to go over that." He paused a moment before sitting down on the foot-end of the bed. Kylo glared at him,

"...and what period is that?"

"The Renaissance?" 

Kylo felt himself relax, 

"Oh good- I was afraid you had wanted to go over the entire history or Russia or something the way you said that."

"I mean if you really want-"

"I'll give it to you on the short- if anyone tried to attack them in the winter, the whole army died and Russia remained unbothered." 

Hux chuckled,

"Alright Kylo, let's just do this before I lose all of my willingness to do it." 

-

"So... the word Renaissance literally means 'rebirth'? Then that connects to all of the art of the period then- it was their religious reawakening?" Hux looked up from his notebook, whisps of hair falling into his face. 

"Exactly! You've got it, it all comes back around to this being the period of renewed religious ideas." His lips tugged into a smile. Kylo shifted a bit, nose scrunching up at the feeling of his tightened lower back. He groaned and leaned back into his pillows, his head bumping into the wall in the process. 

"Guess one of those dumb exercise videos don't sound so bad now do they?" Hux teased, lips tugging up into a smirk. 

"Ha ha ha." Kylo grumbled sarcastically, letting his eyes flutter shut for a moment. 

"Whatdya say we get out of here for a while and go see a movie?" Hux asked, pushing his dulled down pencil into the spine of his notebook. The question made Kylo open his eyes. 

"Done studying so soon Huxy?" He leaned forward instead, letting his head lower down. He groaned as the position stretched his back out.

He didn't see Hux shrug,

"Just thought we could go take a break, see some dumb lighthearted movie to clear our minds." Hux reached out, pulling the hair tie gently out of Kylo's hair. The long, black strands fell down into his face and sprawled back into its proper place along his neck. He heard Kylo groan again,

"Why'd you do that." 

"You told me you liked wearing your hair down." 

Kylo sat up and looked at him, shocked that he had remembered. 

"Yeah.. yeah I do but it looks like a mess and I didn't want you to see my hair all knotted up." 

Hux stayed silent, closing his textbook and putting it aside. He climbed behind Kylo before sitting down behind him. His hands came up to Kylo's hair, where he took the top half and pulled it in back into a half ponytail, hiding the few knots that were even in his hair in the first place. He then let his fingers rake through the part of his hair that he had left down just to straighten it up a bit. 

"There, hides the mess but.. yeah." Hux cleared his throat, and pushed off of the bed to stand up. Kylo turned to thank him, but his friend had already walked out of his room. 

He touched the top of his head carefully, feeling the small braid that ran down. He couldn't feel a single stray hair. It made him wonder where he learned to do it so well.  
Kylo got up and quickly followed after Hux, 

"What are we seeing?" He asked, sliding a pair of black converse on. 

"Whatever the cringiest sounding movie is." Hux replied, watching him. 

"I just didn't take you as the cringy movie type." 

"I'm not that stiff." He laughed, fixing his coat before stepping out the door after him.

"No no, I just took you as someone who likes action movies, maybe even science fiction or documentaries. You're definitely a documentary movie type.

"Well- yeah. But I think we all just need to see something annoying as a cleanser. That probably doesn't make sense." He smiled. 

\- 

Kylo was slumped in his chair, hands greasy from the fake butter of the popcorn that they shared. Hux had insisted on the fake butter, not because it was cheaper but because, for some reason he claimed that it tasted better. Kylo didn't really mind either way. 

Hux was nursing a cherry slushee, ocassionally reaching over to grab a handful of popcorn. He was, surprisingly, enjoying the movie more than Kylo was. But Kylo would've been enjoying it more if he wasn't so nervous. 

He wasn't obvious about his feelings towards Hux, at least he hoped he wasn't. They were good friends, and he didn't want that to change or be ruined. It was slightly terrifying to him. It had happened shortly into their friendship. Kylo found himself wanting to hold his hand. It took him another month to realize that those feelings were for more than just friendship. Yet that's what he was trying to do.

Kylo had slowly been moving his hand closer to Hux's for the past several minutes. He didn't understand how the move always looked so smooth when other people did it. It seemed like every time he got closer, Hux's hand would pull further away. He glanced over at Hux, who was grinning to himself at some stupid joke- or, whatever it was, Kylo wasn't paying attention either way. That's when he took his oppertunity. 

He fumbled for a second before managing to grab Hux's hand.He begged himself in his head to not start shaking, he always did when he was nervous.  
Hux let Kylo slip his fingers inbetween before squeezing his hand. 

Kylo kept regretting not grabbing napkins, or at least trying to wipe his hands off on his pants (even though he would've regretted it later when he would have had to try to wash fake butter out of his pants). But Hux didn't pull away. 

They never talked about it.after the movie ended. 

\-- PRESENT DAY--

Kylo shoved the journal back under his pillow and turned over onto his back. 

He knew it was his own fault that he couldn't express his feelings when he had the oppertunity to. He wondered what would have happened if he would've instead of saying what he did when Hux had asked him about it.

It was one of his biggest regrets, even six years later. 

-

"Would it be too obvious if I went back two days in a row to get a milkshake? I mean- they're fantastic but- I didn't even know he worked there in the first place." Kylo ran a comb through his wet hair. 

"It's definitely a fast turn around, but maybe you're just a guy who really likes milkshakes. Nothing wrong with that." Rose Tico laughed, watching Kylo through the Facetime screen. 

"Wonderful." He mumbled, grabbing his glasses off the counter and cleaning a smudge off of them with his shirt before putting them on.

"Maybe it's your glasses." Rose suggested, spooning a mouthful of cookiedough into her mouth.

"What do you mean?"

"Well- I didn't know you when you didn't wear glasses, but Hux did. Maybe he's just got.. you know, a specific imprint of you in his mind. For me it's weird to see you without glasses on just because it's what i'm use to. Your glasses don't make you look incredibly different but it is just enough to skew what he was probably used to." 

Kylo grabbed his phone and walked out of the bathroom,

"I don't know. Maybe? Hux was a hot, sweaty mess and literally covered in ice cream- don't make a joke about that- and I could still recognize him." 

Rose was laughing too hard to hear the rest of what he said, 

"I'm sorry, it's just, you're the biggest sub-"

"Nooo, Rose." He whined. 

"Just teasing you. Anyway, I think that it's kinda cute. You could keep going and getting workshakes, maybe drop hints as to who you are until he can figure it out? Or you can do something straight forward. Either way, I know if a girl went out of her way to try to get me to remember her I would definitely end up falling for her. Someone going through all that work just to show someone how much they love them? I think that's adorable- wait. You do still love him right? You're not just trying to bring back your friendship or anything." 

"Of course I still have feelings for him, I would not be this nervous over the whole situation of I was just trying to rekindle our friendship. I probably would have just been really up front at that point." 

Rose nodded slowly, 

"Makes sense...Shit- alright, I gotta go. But good luck with your boy." She hung up before Kylo could respond. He threw his phone into the back pocket of his jeans, put on his coat and headed out the door. 

"Glasses..." He mumbled, playing with them on the elevator ride down.  
It was completely plausible the more he thought of it. 

Kylo zipped his coat up as he walked down the sidewalk. It wasn't freezing out, but the Autumn air had been growing colder by the day. The colorful, changing leaves that surrounded him reminded him of Hux. They reminded him of all of the football games Hux refused to go to, all the ones that, despite hating football, Kylo had still gone to because he was friends with the junior drum major Phasma. Phasma had coincidentally also been captain of the football team, but instead of peptalking the football team at halftime she'd peptalk her bandmates before they marched onto the field to perform. 

Kylo hadn't really talked to her after graduation either. She moved out of the country and, last he checked, was the CEO of some company in Europe.  
Kylo had gone a bit of a different route, ending up with a major in hospitality and travel. 

Ironically, despite the discounts he would get, he had never traveled out of the country. He was waiting to do that. Waiting because, if he was being perfectly honest, he didn't want to go alone. If he was going to all these different, beautiful places in the world he wanted to be able to share the expierence with someone, split food that they were unsure about, take dumb pictures of each other's everywhere, and just have someone to talk to.  
It sounded like a pipe dream in his own mind.

He got to Riverview Suites and took the back entrance inside. He went into the breakroom and emptied his pockets of his phone, keys and wallet and put the stuff in his locker before shoving his coat inside with all of it. He pinned his nametag to his black, button down shirt and walked out to the front desk. 

It was a weird wish, but sometimes he desperately wanted to try working at the hotels in Disney. He had gone as a young child and, though the memories of it were fuzzy, the hotels were so bright and family friendly. One of the things he missed most about being a travel agent was helping all the families that were taking trips down to Disney. Even now, working at Riverview, sometimes families with excited kids would come through. It was company policy to give young kids balloons, but Kylo loved doing it. He couldn't imagine how excited a child would he at a Disney World hotel.  
He'd learn deal with the heat, eventually.

"Hey Kylo." Alan called, not looking up from his keyboard. 

"Hey Al." He sat down on the stool in the station next to him. 

"You have a good night?" He asked, looking over at him. 

"Huh? Oh, yeah it was fine. Same as usual, nothing interesting." He shrugged, sitting up a little straighter when a woman approached the counter. 

"Welcome to Riverview, how can I help you today?"

 

Al locked his computer and disappeared into the back. He was the only one who seemed to enjoy blowing up balloons, all of the other employees Kylo knew hated it, including himself. It was tedious work, but Al seemed to love tedious work. 

Kylo only liked passing them out to people. 

-

Kylo spent a good ten minutes pacing the breakroom when his shift was over. His black shoes scoffed up the grey, tiled floor beneath him. 

He thought about what Rose said earlier. 

He went to his locker, grabbed his stuff and headed out the door. This time, he didn't hesiatate. Kylo walked down the same streets that he had just the day before to the ice cream shop where Hux worked. It wasn't a very long walk, but it was long enough for Kylo to dream up a conversation in his head. 

When he walked in the door, the little bell rang above him. Hux was too busy helping another customer to realize that he had just walked through the door. He sat down in the same spot as the day before and stared up at the flavors. 

He couldn't stray away from the strawberry, but he figured he'd look less awkward if he was looking at something instead of just staring at the counter. 

"Back again so soon huh?" Hux smiled, holding a large, silver ice cream spoon in his hand. 

"I've gotta admit, you make some pretty great milkshakes. Just thought I'd come back for another one."

Hux laughed,  
"Well, sorry about the wait, I'm glad you decided to come back. What can I get you?"

"I'm honestly thinking of going with another strawberry milkshake." 

"Really? Do you mind if I switch it up a bit? Maybe throw some oreos in there or something. I won't charge you any extra." 

Kylo smiled,

"That sounds fantastic actually, that you be great." 

Hux turned around, but Kylo didn't turn away. He had his shirt tucked into his pants, which curved in a bit at the waist. Kylo chewed on his lip. His feelings were definitely still there. He pulled his glance away and looked around the shop a bit, taking in the people around him. He wondered what all of their stories were. The mixer roared to life behind him as he looked out the window. 

"Here you go, strawberry oreo milkshake. Hope you like it. I've never actually tried to make a strawberry oreo shake before." He chuckled, throwing a spoon into the sink. 

Kylo took a drink, a low hum coming from his throat. Hux smiled and turned away, going to wash the stuff in the sink and leaving him alone. 

Kylo waited, wanting Hux to be done with washing off dishes before he tried to talk to him. 

After a few minutes, the man shut the sink off and pulled a towel out from his apron to dry off his hands.

"Can I ask you something?" Kylo questioned, setting down his cup. 

Hux turned around, 

"Sure thing, what's up?" 

"I'm working on a project and I'm- well I'm kind of stuck. Do you know anything about the Renaissance?" 

Hux froze, his eyes growing wide. 

"...Ren?"


	3. At The Swingset Just After Sunset

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It felt like an eternity before Kylo finally broke the silence.

Hux suddenly felt trapped, his feet like concrete under him, refusing to move. He watched with wide eyes as Kylo removed his glasses. His grip on the counter behind him was so hard that this knuckles began to grow white. 

They stared at each other, neither speaking. It felt like an eternity before Kylo finally broke the silence,

"Hi Hux.." His voice was quiet. 

"K-Kylo..." Hux swallowed hard before running into the back room. His pack pressed against the door, chest rising and falling rapidly as if he had just run a marathon. Regret filled him instantly. 

He had to stop running away. That's how he had lost Kylo in the first place. 

Hux drew a long breath before pressing his hand against the door and letting it swing open. His eyes landed immediately on Kylo, who was digging through his wallet to try to find cash. Panic was bubbling up in Hux's throat. He approached him, shoes echoing too loud in his head as he walked across the tiled floor. 

"Kylo..." Hux started. Kylo looked up quickly, his brown eyes enlarged with a feeling he couldn't put his finger on. Strands of hair fell into his face, framing around his cheeks and jaw.  
"How- How have you been?" 

Kylo closed his wallet and let his hands fall to his lap,

"When does your shift end?" He avoided the question. He always avoided that question. 

"Six..." 

Kylo glanced up at the silver framed clock up on the wall, trying to use the jerking seconds hand to calm his anxiousness. A small smile spread across his lips,

"I'll wait for you. We can go sit somewhere and catch-up... if that's okay with you." 

Hux swallowed down the pool of saliva collecting in the back of his throat, 

"Yeah that- that would be fine." 

\--

Hux would continue to be busy until the end of his shift that night. Normally it would've annoyed him, but it was currently the only thing cooling down his nerves. Kylo watched him occasionally, noticing his arms had gained a bit more muscle definition than what he had in high school. He considered it was probably from scooping ice cream all the time and pushed a different possibility out of his thoughts. 

He hung up his dirty apron a minute before six, escaping into the break room to wash up. Once again he scrubbed at his face, grimacing at the red splotches the popped up. He grabbed his coat and belongings before heading back out. Kylo was already standing by the door. 

Hux pulled his jacket on, the black felty fabric covering his grey knit sweater and dark grey, high-waisted pants down to his knees.   
He was halfway through the door before realizing he had no clue where Kylo had planned to go. Turning back, he looked at him briefly, 

"You lead the way, I'm not sure where you want to go." He shrugged a bit, hesitating for a moment before following behind him. 

They fell into the same footing as if it were an old habit. 

\--

Kylo had lead them to the park and wandered a bit before finding a swing set. The black u-shaped plastic swung back and forth in a ghostly manner in the evening wind. The swing sunk a little as he sat down next to him. It had been a long time since Hux had sat on a swing. 

"It's been a while." Kylo softly spoke, finally ending the silence between them. 

"That it has." Hux let his feet drag against the wood chips under him. 

"I missed you." His voice wavered. When Hux looked over at him, he found that Kylo wasn't looking back at him. 

"I missed you too." 

Kylo's laugh was half hearted,

"You don't need to say that. You didn't even recognize me, Hux." 

Hux got up off of the swing he sat on and stepped in front of him. Kylo was slow to look up, but he didn't let their eyes meet. 

"You brought me to this park on purpose." It was more of a statement than a question. 

"Yeah- Its... Its where you told me." 

Hux nodded,

"It was one of the scariest things I've ever done." 

Kylo finally looked up again, but Hux spoke again before he could, 

"You were different. I wasn't expecting you, I wasn't expecting to fall in love with the same person I considered my best friend." 

"And I was the idiot that didn't take a chance with you." 

"You're not an idiot." 

"I blew it." 

"Kylo you needed time to let yourself find a better place, mentally. I respected that, I still respect that because you and your health are more important than a relationship. We were best friends, I still would've sat up with you and talked to you all night when you needed me no matter what our label was." 

There was a small smile on Kylo's lips. 

"Can I ask you something?" 

"Of course."

"Why didn't you recognize me yesterday?"

"Something in me was trying to tell me that it was you. Ren... that's why I asked if we knew each other. The glasses, the way you dress... hell I think you even got taller... but- it threw me. Like maybe I was hallucinating, that this guy looked just like my high school best friend. Exactly like the guy who had stolen my fucking heart." He brought his thumb to soft underside of Kylo's chin. 

"I stole your heart huh?" 

"You know this." Hux laughed.

"I know, just missed hearing you say it." He let the weight of his head rest on Hux's thumb. 

Hux felt the warm tug from deep inside him yet again. 

But this time Hux knew exactly what it was. 

"I was scared of getting hurt again. I was scared that I had ruined our friendship after... after I told you and I know you said it didn't but I was so terrified of losing you altogether. On top of all that I was scared that by continuing what we had you'd feel forced into a relationship when you were not ready and I never would've been able to forgive myself. I think in the process I may have accidentally boxed you out." 

"Our conversations went from being incredibly comfortable to nothing more than small talk. I cant let the blame for this settle all on you. I should've just talked to you, found out what was wrong."

Hux let his hand fall away. He put his hands in his pockets and took a step back. Kylo stood up, and Hux noticed that they were nearly the same height now. He didn't have to look down anymore. 

"Can I ask you something?" Kylo spoke again, letting one hand wrap around the cold metal chain of the swing. 

"Anything."

"Do you want to be friends again?"

"Is friendship all you want?" 

Kylo felt his cheeks warm up a soft he blushed,

"I think it would be a nice start. I missed you so bad Hux. I want you back I want to stay up till some stupid time in the morning talking to you like we always used to."

"Except this time we can do it face to face with no worry of getting yelled at or having curfew." Hux laughed. Kylo couldn't help but notice it was the same laugh from the movie theater. 

It was like they already fell back into their old rhythm. 

\--

"Hospitality? Really? I would have seen you going into something with history."

"There was no way in hell I was going to be a teacher."

"Yeah- yeah I don't blame you there." Hux scratched at the back of his neck. 

The men had lost track of how long they had been walking around the park and talking for. It felt so peaceful to finally be talking again.

Kylo looked up, staring at the sparse number of stars that freckled the night sky. 

"Maybe one day Ill go somewhere where you can actually see the stars." He mumbled, trailing his eyes up to the moon instead. 

"You always loved looking up at the stars." 

Kylo looked at Hux with a surprised expression. He grabbed Hux's arm suddenly, preventing him from continuing to walk. 

"Those were the hardest words I've ever spoke Hux."

"What?" 

 

"Telling you I loved you. I've literally never loved anyone as much as I love you and I hated myself for it, I wanted- i needed you. I wanted to hold your hand in the stupid hallways and spend Friday nights staying in and watching movies with you. Worst of all I feel like I might've hurt you. I saw it in your eyes Hux, the night after the dance- after we danced- you never looked at me the same way again. I...I fed into it and fell even harder for you." 

Hux tried to blink away the tears forming in his eyes, 

"Ren..." 

"I have you back now. That's all that matters. I'm not losing you this time, I'm not losing my best friend. Never again."

"I'm not leaving you Kylo. I promise." 

Kylo didn't hesitate, letting his arms wrap around Hux's waist. He was partially scrunched down so he could burry his face in the crook of his neck. He breathed in the smell of his old friend, overly grateful for his warmth and familiarity. 

Hux wound his arms around Kylo and held him tight to his chest. His eyes shut gently as he took it all in. 

It felt like a dream. In fact, Hux was terrified that when he opened his eyes Kylo wouldn't be there. But he felt his deep, relaxed breaths as warm air settled into Hux's neck. 

"Ren?" 

"Yeah Hux?"

"I really did miss you. I missed this- your warmth, your hugs. I missed your jokes, sincerity. Everything. I just never realized just how badly until now." 

Kylo smiled and gently nuzzled his nose into Hux's neck. 

"I missed you too Hux." 

Kylo's pulled back, stepping to his left side. 

"I think you should come with me." Kylo's suggested, letting his head lay on Hux's shoulder. 

"Come with you where?" Hux questioned. 

"To see the see the stars."

It was the first time in a long time that Hux felt genuine happiness plunge into his veins. The warmth of it consumed every inch of his body. 

"That sounds wonderful, Ren."


	4. Caught In The Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hux isn't prepared for the unexpected rain storm, but someone else might be.

Hux felt like he was quite possibly the stupidest person in the world. They had established no contact (not that they didn't know where the other worked), but that wasn't what was worrying him. 

He hated showing venerability, yet here he was letting his feeling for someone he hadn't seen in six years bubble up to the surface. It felt like a joke. But worst of all Hux was afraid that these feelings weren't real. That, maybe, they were old thoughts gaining purchase only to quickly check out of his mind. 

He quickly realized he should've kept his mouth shut. 

He had promised the man friendship. He barely understood what that title entailed anymore. It had been years, and he was fairly certain that adult friendships were different than high school friendships. Were they supposed to go out for drinks? Did Kylo even drink? Hux knew the man seemed to have an incredibly weird love for strawberry milkshakes, but he was entirely uncertain if he drank anything alcoholic. Hux shifted weight between his feet.   
The line at the grocery store was entirely too long and he was now regretting not purchasing anything for an event that he didn't even know would happen. 

He sighed heavily and got out of line, barely looking up as he started wandering through the aisles once again. Wine felt like too much- as if he were suggesting that whatever meeting they might have in the future were a date. He didn't want that, not yet anyway.   
After ten minutes of meaningless searching he dumped a container of strawberries into his basket. 

Always with the damn strawberries. He needed to find out what Kylo's obsession with them was. 

He started walking back home after making his purchase. He didn't know how to buy for other people, and certainly not someone he hadn't seen for six years. Hux never took the conventional route home, letting himself, for the most part avoid others. He understood that that was part of his problem, but he also didn't feel the need to try to change it.   
He didn't need anyone. 

Except for days like this when the skies decided to open up and cry down on the earth. Days where Hux was never prepared with rain gear. 

"Fuck!-" He shouted, quickly trying to tie together the handles on the red, reusable grocery bag so nothing would get wet. His hair was slowly pasting itself to his forehead, large droplets of water grabbing onto his eyelashes. He looked around before awkwardly scurrying under the overhang in front of the library entrance. He wasn't going to go in, not while soaking wet, Waiting out the rain was all he could do. 

"What, do you not have that robot printed umbrella anymore?" Someone asked, making Hux squint through his rain-soaked eyelashes. 

Ren, completely dry under an obnoxiously pale pink umbrella. 

"How the hell do you remember that?" He asked, hunched in on himself because, despite his coat, he was soaking wet and freezing. 

"Because you told everyone you hated it, but I knew you didn't. There were three plain colored umbrellas you could easily taken from the umbrella stand in your house. You never did." Thunder rolled at the tail end of his words. Hux could picture the stupid thing, grey with little red and black robots freckled on its waterproof surface. Ren was right. He never hated that thing. 

Hux neglected to realize that he had been staring right at Kylo, not saying a word. 

"So are you just going to stay crouched under this overhang, freezing and wet? Or are you going to get under my umbrella and walk with me? Not that I mind you staring." 

Hux scoffed, barely hesitating before crowding in under the umbrella next to Ren, who smiled.

"Why pink?" Hux asked, not even sure of where they were going. 

Kylo shrugged,   
"I think it's a nice color." Something in his voice made Hux question the sincerity of his answer, but he didn't press further. Instead he asked,

"Where are we going exactly?"

"My apartment."

Hux laughed,

"Ren, I'm soaking wet. I can't sit around in these clothes." 

"What, do you think I don't have clothes?" 

Hux could feel his stomach turn over.   
"I'm not wearing your clothes Ren."

"Why- Why don't you want to wear my clothes?" 

 

Because you should be the one wearing my clothes, Hux thought. 

"No- no it's fine. I'm just being fussy. Lets go." He would've taken the oppertunity to be a step in front of Kylo so he couldn't see his face if it weren't for the rain. Not that it would've mattered, he was already drenched, more rain wouldn't have done any harm. But he stayed by Kylo's side instead. 

He could feel their elbows bump together and Hux was glad for the conformation that- yes this was real, he was in fact standing next to the person he once considered his best friend before both of their feelings got in the way. Yes- he was freezing and desperate to get inside a warm room and put on dry clothes and get the damn cloth grocery bag off his arm that was undoubtedly cutting off his circulation. 

His mind was moving too fast. 

He didn't even realize that they were inside Kylo's apparent building until they were stuffed in an elevator that, for some reason, had either a cold draft or air conditioning on blast. 

"I have... sweaters that'll fit you but I don't think I have pants." Kylo stared, wiggling his key into the rusted gold handle. 

"Kylo..." Hux groaned, irritated that he neglected to mention that earlier. 

"You act like I've never seen you in your boxers."

"That's- pretty sure those are soaked through too." Hux mumbled, trailing behind Kylo as they walked through the doorway. 

The walls were painted white for the exception of an accent brick wall- standard, Hux figured. He used the front of his foot to slide off his shoes and left them on the tiny welcome mat, not wanting to get the floors wet. It was much smaller than his own place. The bedroom, living area and kitchen were all contained within the same set of walls. He assumed the two different doors went to a bathroom and some sort of closet, their brown wood standing out in a sharp contrast against the white wall. Kylo's futon and sheets were black, in fact, most of his furniture was black. But most of the accents seemed to be the same pale pink as his umbrella, which currently sat open, drying next to the door. Pink. He couldn't remember Kylo ever liking pink. 

Dozens of yellow Post-It notes hung on the wall by his bed, and Hux had to squint to notice that there were little black stars scribbled on all of them. He frowned, realizing that his lease didn't let him stick the glow-in-the-dark stars to his ceiling and in the brightness of the city, there was no way he'd be able to see real start either. 

Pink, stars, strawberries.

That's all Hux knew about Kylo, and it seemed like an incredibly odd grouping of information. 

He set the drenched grocery bag in the kitchen sink while Kylo rummaged through his dresser drawer for something for Hux to wear. He watched him produce a plain black sweater, holding it up in front of him to check it over. 

"Here, this should be fine." Kylo wobbled a bit as he got up off of his knees. He tossed the sweater over to Hux, who caught it in one hand and slipped into the bathroom. He peeled off his jacket, throwing it over the shower curtain rod. Next came his shirt, and then he struggled to get his pants off without a bit of jumping and cussing under his breath. They joined his jacket and he turned to himself in the mirror. On the left side of the counter was a blow dryer which he greatfuly plugged into the outlet. He dried his hair off first, the warmth sending a chill down his spine. He looked down, debating for a moment if he should attempt to dry his boxers but ultimately decided that it would be better than sitting in them wet- which he would just end up regretting even more later when his skin was raw and irritated.   
Hux awkwardly passed the blow drier in front of his crotch, too cold and irritated for this to accidentally turn him on. It took longer than he wanted it to, but he managed to get himself dry. 

He grabbed Kylo's sweater off the counter and pulled it over his head, his hair falling into his face as the collar passed over his head. Raking his fingers through his hair, he suddenly paused. He brought the collar of the sweater up to his nose and took a deep breath. It smelled strongly of Kylo. 

Of course it did. 

The thing hung off of his shoulders, baggy in all the wrong places along his thin frame. But, for all the fussing he had done, he didn't actually mind it. Nor did he mind finally being warm. 

He gave himself one last look before throwing his wet socks over the edge of the tub and walking out. Kylo was at the kitchen counter, stirring two mugs of something steamy. He looked up at him with wide eyes before settiling down, a warm smile on his face. 

"You clean up nice." He dropped the spoon into the side of the sink, which Hux realized was no longer occupied by his groceries. The carton of strawberries was popped open, and a number of them now took home in a clear bowl. 

"Coffee?" Hux asked, but Kylo shook his head, 

"Don't have any of that, its hot chocolate." He carefully grabbed the handles of both mugs, "Oh, you mind grabbing the strawberries?" He asked before walking towards the futon. Hux grabbed the bowl and followed behind him, only the sound of pouring rain and his bare feet against the floor filled his ears. 

When he sat down on the couch, he positioned himself a little ways away from Kylo, the bowl of strawberries sitting between them. He gratefully took the warm mug of hot chocolate, sipping it slowly. 

"So, what were you doing?" Hux asked. 

"What?" Kylo tilted his head to the side, confused. 

 

"Today, how did we end up crossing paths?" 

"Had a lot to think about so I just thought I'd go for a walk to clear my mind." 

"What's on your mind?" Hux knew he would already know the answer. The same vague answer that Kylo had always given him when he was trying to find out what was wrong. 

"Most of it has to do with you." He said before burying his mouth in his hot chocolate. 

"Well-" Hux shrugged, his mug pressed inbetween his hands, "you can ask me whatever. I'm sure I can give you an-"

"No- it's not like that. It's not questions, even though i'd love to be filled in to everything that happened with you the six years we were apart. I'm just scared Hux." 

He didn't know how to respond. He looked down at the little bubbles in his drink and sighed. 

"I went to college for four years- business," He started, and Kylo looked at him with wide eyes, surprised that he was willing to talk about it,  
"not that it did me much. I didn't really have any friends there either and I guess it just.. spiraled me into a path of not caring. Was severely in debt, living in a car and working at the same blasted ice cream shop that I still work at. But, it payed enough to get by, and still does. So I sold my car and bought a little apartment. Had dreams of traveling the world, but I didn't want to go alone and any time I'd try to start saving, something would bust and I'd just have to use that money to fix it. The most exciting part of my life is when someone gives me a big enough tip that I can get extra food at the grocery store." 

He had left out a lot. But it was stuff he wasn't ready for Kylo to hear, not yet.   
He looked up, watching as Kylo stared back at him, his fingers tapping on his mug in thought. 

"Was my tip how you were able to buy those?" He tilted his head towards the small bowl of strawberries.

"Yeah, actually. Stupid, isn't it? Fruit has to be a fucking treat." He scoffed, leaning forward and placing his mug on the table. 

Kylo laughed,   
"Tell me about it, I think I'm lucky that I even have a bathroom that's separate from the rest of this room. Not that a lot of people ever come in here, but I think that would create a super awkward situation."

Hux snorted,   
"Yeah, you would've had to watch me blow dry my wet ass." 

Kylo's cheeks flushed,   
"You used my blow dryer on your ass?" 

"Fuck- don't phrase it like that. You know what I mean." 

"Well? You're the one that did it."

"Indeed. I wasn't going to sit on your futon with wet boxers." 

Kylo shook his head and finished off his cup of hot chocolate, licking the remnants from his top lip. 

"Not to turn the mood all sappy, but I missed this." He grabbed a strawberry from the bowl, popping it into his mouth until the leafy part hit his lips. He grabbed the tiny leaves with two fingers and held it as he bit into the sweet berry. The leaves were tossed into his mug. Hux stared at him through the whole process. 

"Wamnt ome?" Kylo asked, words fuzzy from his full mouth. Hux took one, opting for small bites instead of one large one. 

"Why do you like strawberries so much?" He asked, the juices from the fruit settling into his tongue. Kylo looked at him, but didn't give him an answer. Instead he scooted closer to Hux and held the bowl. There was a small pout on his lips. 

Hux picked up a strawberry and brought it up to Kylo's mouth. He took small bites this time, spending the time to savor it. As he got closer to Hux's fingers, his lips started to brush against them. Hux watched carefully, moving his fingers slowly until they only latched into the green part.   
Kylo finished it, and looked up at Hux, lips slightly stained and glossy from the juice. 

"Can I have another one?" 

Hux swallowed hard around something in the back of his throat. 

"Of course, as many as you want." 

Kylo gave him a small, gentle smile and opened his mouth.


	5. Self Proclaimed King

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hux is still in Kylo's appartment after getting caught in the rain. Kylo decides to make their hanging out a little more fun.

Hux had neglected to notice just how much his hands were shaking as he went to grab a strawberry for himself but Kylo had, and a frown settled deep into his brows. 

“Are you cold?” He asked, sitting up straight. 

“What? No- of course not. I'm fine.” Hux took a bite out of the berrie that he held between his fingers. 

“You're shaking.” 

“My hands are always shaking.” His voice was muffled from chewing. 

Kylo snorted and adjusted his glasses,  
“Yeah? So are mine, but it's never my whole body like yours is right now. You're cold.” 

Hux didn’t answer him. 

“Blankets...” Kylo said, standing up and looking around for a moment before clasping his hands together and smiling,  
“and Mario Kart.” 

“I'm- Mario Kart?” 

Kylo's smile turned to a grin as he disappeared behind the futon. Hux sighed and shook his head, pulling the strawberry bowl into his lap 

When Kylo returned, he had his comforter thrown over one arm and two gaming controllers in the other. He had stripped the comforter off of his bed and Hux tried not to laugh as he looked at him. 

“Up, please.” Kylo gestured to the bowl and waited for Hux to pull it away from his lap. Once he did, he took the comforter and covered up to Hux’s chest, making sure to leave enough for him once he sat down. He turned on his heel and threw the Mario Kart disc into the gaming counsel. It took a moment to boot up, and then Mario Kart music filled the room. Hux rolled his eyes as he took the controller, but Kylo could have sworn that he saw a hint of a smile on his lips. 

“Just one round.” Hux pressed, readjusting to sit up straight. 

Kylo laughed,  
“It's impossible to just play one round of Kart you grouch.” He picked up the other side of the comforter before plopping himself on the futon next to Hux. He threw the comforter over his lap and started up the game. The screen made little noises as he quickly paged through options, eventually getting to the character selection screen. The bright colors were reflecting off of his dark eyes, Hux noticed.

“Okay Huxie- you can pick first.” Kylo hummed, looking over at him. Hux’s eyes scanned through the list of cartoon characters, each little icon hovering up and down as he scrolled past it. It didn't take him long to pick Waluigi, to which Kylo frowned at. 

“Waluigi? Really?” He didn't even look at the screen as he paged over to select Princess Peach. 

“What’s wrong with Waluigi?”

“No! Nothing, there’s nothing wrong with Waluigi- It's just that traditionally, Mario saves the Princess and-”

“Kylo..” Hux cut him off, and Kylo looks back at him with wide eyes before continuing to talk again,

“Waluigi can do anything he puts his mind to I really don’t mind, you know? But I’m also not about to play as Princess Daisy. Just so you know.”

Hux shook his head and watched as Kylo picked the Banana Cup. He felt like they we’re both getting ahead of themselves. Yet, in the back of his mind, he understood that it wasn’t important that Kylo’s character choice was saved by his own. It was more than that. Hux cleared his throat,

“I think Waluigi can save the Princess. He’s sinister but… I think maybe he’s still capable of good.”

He watched as Kylo smiled, but noticed that his eyes, which once again danced with the colorful reflection of the TV screen, never shifted focus. never left the screen His eyes never left Kylo until the race start music filled his ears. 

Then it was time for business. He would never admit to the fact that he was a self-proclaimed pro at Mario Kart. Afterall, it wasn't like he had much else better to do to pass time between work shifts. 

On the left side of the screen, Waluigi’s bike roared as Hux managed to get the beginning speed booster. The yellow sands of Koopa Beach were flying behind him in animation as he took the first curve, narrowly missing running straight into Wario’s giant car. One thing was for sure, Hux hated the characters with the big vehicles. They didn’t handle well on any terrain, and they were just a pain if you were up against them instead of playing as them. He would never play as Bowser or Donkey Kong, no matter how long someone tried to take to convince him how iconic the characters were.   
He cussed something wicked as the mystery box revealed itself to be a banana. It wasn’t going to help him or cause any sort of chaos unless the CPU or Kylo were that bad at racing that they drove straight into it. Waluigi threw the yellow, smiling banana over his shoulder with a chuckle, but thats when Hux realize that he thought too soon. Out of the corner of his view he saw on the right side of the screen that Princess Peach had run straight into the banana that he had just thrown. 

 

“Kylo,, you're not supposed to run into them!” Hux laughed. It took everything in Kylo not to look away from the screen to see Hux’s face. 

That laugh.

The laugh that had been permanently ingrained in his memory that afternoon at the movie theater all those years ago. It filled him with something happy, something familiar and if he hadn't been so keen on trying to get Princess Peach to catch up to Waluigi, he would’ve thought deeper into the whole situation. 

Hux was still in the lead, Kylo taking a close third and trying to pass up Toad to be able to at least have a chance to catch up before the last lap. Both players ran through the iridescent boxes, waiting eagerly to see what prize would be inside. Hux managed to come away with a shell (not that it would be useful without anyone directly in front of him. He acknowledged this and debated on whether he should toss it away or wait until someone tried to pass him up.) Kylo, on the other hand, managed to knab a blue shell, much to his own surprise. He launched it, the blue shell streaking across the screen in a wild frenzy before crashing into the back of Waluigi’s bike. Just like that, Hux’s green shell had disappeared and the bike was spinning out of control.

“Pay back buddy!” Kylo grinned, hair starting to fall into his face. 

“God- Is Mario Kart seriously making you sweat?” Hux questioned, just barely able to glance over at the fact that Kylo’s dark hair had not only begun to fall into his face, but to stick to his skin as well. Kylo felt his face heat up, 

“I take Mario Kart seriously!” He pleaded his case, right before accidentally driving Princess Peach straight into a sandy pyramid. This was all Hux needed to gain the lead once again, and he did it with a grin. 

“Seriously huh? Do all serious players veer off the road?” He bantered, leaning into the movements of the controller. If Kylo answered, he didn’t hear him, his thoughts too consumed with yelling “go!” in his head as Waluigi passed over the finish line. Hux threw his hands up in triumph, as he watched Toad and Peach cross the finish line behind him. 

“Hey! Third place isn't bad.” Hux grabbed Kylo’s shoulder and shook him gently. 

“It’s one round Armitage, don’t get too excited yet. You could very easily lose the next three.” 

“You're talking to the Mario Kart king, Ren.” Hux hummed, hitting the A button on his controller. 

“Is that a self proclaimed title?” Kylo quipped, a smug look on his face. 

Hux wasn’t about to admit that to Kylo. 

The music started up for the SNES Mario Circuit 2 course. It hummed in his ears and he barely noticed that Kylo scooted closer to him just before the race started. Once again, Hux managed to get the speed boost, but this time, Kylo got it too and he had Peach right on Waluigi’s tail. 

“How the hell did you get blue drift?” Kylo asked, watching with small misery as Peach careened into the multi-colored wall on the edge of the course. 

“These buttons” Hux answered quickly, wiggling his fingers over the buttons he used. Kylo quickly scanned the controller in his hand, adjusting and fumbling awkwardly to hit the buttons that were all too close together for his fingers to handle properly. It was a common problem, he had come to realize, that only got worse as he got older. Much to his relief, he was pretty sure that he was done growing. At least, he hoped so. Lucky for him, cellphones had only gotten larger over time, he wasn't quite so lucky with everything else. Not to mention, it looked completely awkward and dorky for him to be holding the controller the way he was. Nevertheless, he managed to maintain the distance between Peach and Waluigi. 

Kylo ended up winning that round.   
He won the third round too and Hux was convinced that holding the controller in the dorky manner that he was, was somehow giving him an odd advantage. But he had to try not to laugh at the fact that he looked like an old man who had never played a video game in his life. 

“Think you can win this one grandpa?” Hux motioned with his chin to Kylo’s controller, which only made Kylo break into a pout. 

“Hey! Not my fault they make these things so small.”

“You’re still going down grandpa.” Hux smirked, shoving into him gently with his shoulder. 

Unfortunately, on Hux’s end, he might’ve gotten a bit too hyper trying to win the last round. He was teetering on the cushion the whole time, helling at the TV and at Waluigi to move faster. 

“Peach never loses.” Kylo smiled, leaning into a frowning Hux whose controller rested in his lap and nearly kissed his cheek. But he panicked a bit and pulled away. Hux turned his head to look at Kylo and pondered for a moment, taking in how flushed his face was. He still couldn’t believe he had managed to get sweaty playing Mario Kart. 

“Congrats, champion.” He said gently, quickly pressing his lips to his cheek and pulling away. He pushed the blanket off his lap and walked the bowl of strawberries to the kitchen. Too busy rinsing out his mug to refill with water, he neglected to notice that Kylo was gawking at him with wide eyes, completely in disbelief. 

“You up for a rematch? I feel lucky about this one.” He seemed to smile with his eyes as the cup blocked his mouth. 

Kylo didn’t respond verbally, but rather just nodded his head. He reached over to the table beside him and grabbed a black velvet scrunchie to tie his hair up with. He only managed to get most of it within the scrunchie hold, the rest of it still too short to get pulled up into the neat little ponytail on the upper back half of his head. 

Hux could remember when it was a little longer and he could get all of it up. Not that he ever wanted to, he always kept his hair down and in his face for the exception of the time that he had braided it down the middle for him. However, Hux had done that by himself without really asking if Kylo enjoyed it, but he kept it in for the rest of that evening so he must have.   
He set his mug down on the arm side of the futon and grabbed Kylo’s so he could wash his out too and fill it with water. 

“Think maybe I’ll try to hold the controller the way you do this time” Hux mused, handing Kylo his mug and sitting down on top of the comforter that he had set down on the futon earlier. Kylo had pushed it off of himself, and Hux couldn't blame him. In fact, he was surprised that he hadn't done it earlier. 

Hux happily won their second round, but decided that Kylo seemed a bit too frazzled still to be able to concentrate properly during it. 

So, they played until the sun was starting to rise on a new day. Both of them looking like wrecks with strained eyes, sore fingers and messed up hair. They had played for so long that neither had bothered to keep track of who was winning more rounds. Yet, through the aching hands and backs, they both internally agreed that it was the most fun they had had in a long time. 

For the first time in his collective memory, Hux dreaded that he would have to leave and go back home. 

“Hey Hux? You wanna go get breakfast?” Kylo asked groggily, rubbing at his eyes. 

“Do you have anything here? I can cook.” Hux mumbled, but Kylo shook his head.

“Nah, but I know a place, they have incredible pancakes?” He tried to comb his fingers through his hair.

“Can you uh- go down and get my pants from the laundry first?” Hux asked awkwardly, suddenly remembering he had had Kylo run down to the laundry room at about 10pm so he could get his clothes dried off. 

“Oh! Yeah- you sure you don't wanna go like that?” His left eyebrow raised in question. 

“No pants, no service.” He laughed. g

“Wait… that's not in the-”

“Just please go get my pants.” 

“Right!” Kylo grabbed his keys and disappeared out the door. Hux sighed and tapped his fingers on his legs. He couldn't believe that he had stayed up all night having genuine fun. He stretched forward with a groan and felt his back crack. 

Kylo came back a few minutes later and threw Hux’s pants at his head. He walked over to his dresser and picked out his own clothes before slipping into the bathroom. Hux opted to just throwing his pants on while Kylo was in the bathroom, he felt weird putting on the same shirt that he had worn yesterday but didn't have much else of a choice. 

\--

“I really love that jacket.” Hux nodded to the black, leather jacket that he was wearing. It seemed so off from the rest of the small breakfast shop’s mood, which was very quaint and natural. The black seemed to stand out even more against the blue, wooden chairs that they were sitting in.

“Yeah? Thank you, I thought it went well with the red.” He motioned down do his red trousers. 

“Is your favorite color black or that pink that you have all over your apartment then?” He asked, looking through the little paper menu that he held in one hand while he held a white mug of black coffee in the other. 

Kylo was silent for a moment, before giving a small smile,

“Both? Depends on my mood.” 

Hux gave a small shrug as he took a drink from his coffee. A waiter approached the table and took their orders. Hux opted for a plate of waffles, topped with powdered sugar and cinnamon. Kylo on the other hand got waffles with whipped cream and blueberries on top. Hux was almost surprised to see him order a different selection of fruit. 

“Can I ask you something?” Hux asked, tracing his finger over the tiny engravings etched into the wood of the table. 

“You can ask me two, since you just asked me one.” 

Hux rolled his eyes,   
“What's with all the strawberries all the time?” 

Kylo froze, looking like he was deep in thought.   
“I don't think I'm ready to talk about that yet…” he let his head nod slowly before he glanced up at Hux,   
“all in good time.”


	6. Another Day With You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo desperately wants to spend another day with Hux.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delayed update!

Something about the way Kylo had answered him bothered him. His tone of voice sounded so normal but his answer sounded so questionable, so mysterious. It was almost as if he was trying to leave him hanging from the edge of a rocky cliff of curiosity. 

Maybe he was. 

But it wasn't unlike Kylo to be unreasonably dramatic. Hux recalled one time that he was ill and stayed home from school and spent the whole day texting Hux and saying the most miserable of all possible things. He wishes he could remember the conversation more clearly but that phone had long since been disposed of. Those times felt so different, but he couldn't put his finger on why. 

That bothered him too. 

He almost felt guilty for being so unsure of his feelings when just six years earlier he had never been more sure about anything. It had taken him a long time to accept it too. Sure, Kylo had spent months on advances that Hux tried to ignore, tried to push away in hopes that he was partially imagining it. Though, that lead his worry sink deeper as he wondered why he would have imagined Kylo having feelings like that. Yet, he tried not to get too bothered by it. That is, until, he realized that it was impossible to push it away. So he confessed in an almost incredibly embarrassing manner that he long regrets. Why he chose to do it in a park he would never understand. Maybe he was hoping that it would've been easier of an escape if Kylo had randomly decided to say no. 

Of course, Kylo did say no. As painful as it was to Hux he accepted it. Kylo wasn't at a good point in his life and there was no way it would have been fair to either of them to try to do it despite how mentally ill he was. 

What Kylo had said to him had repeated itself though his mind until Hux couldn't handle it anymore. Thats when he shut it all out. 

Kylo had said, after a long silence,

"It wouldn't be fair to you. I can't even take care of myself, Hux. I can't deny that we share the same feelings but if I ever did something to hurt you I would never be able to live with myself. I need to make myself better before I can dive into you and us." 

Hux had understood and accepted it, in fact he was happy that Kylo wanted to focus on himself, but it didn't make it any less defeating. 

Things got awkward for them after that and after a few months of not being able to get past small talk during every conversation, they stopped talking altogether. Hux shut everything out after that. 

Now he was right back where he used to be and scared that they'd end up in the same place all over again. 

"Don't you think?" Kylo asked, dissrupting Hux of his deep thinking. 

"Huh?" Hux asked, a little frazzled. 

"I said the weather is much better than yesterday and asked if you agreed." 

"Oh- yeah. I can handle a bit of wind, the rain is just more of an annoyance... especially when you need to get things done." He huffed, stuffing his hands in into his pockets as they continued to walk down the street.

“Mmmh… true but you wouldn't have spent the night at my place if it weren't for the rain.” 

"Yeah... right. All thanks to my wet pants." He mumbled, his brain wanting to dig back into thinking.

Kylo frowned,

"Did I do something wrong? Like did i put too much whipped cream on my waffles and gross you out or something?" 

Hux laughed,   
"I mean.. that was a rediculious amour of whipped cream but if that's what you like? Just tired." 

Kylo pushed his hair out of his face and swiped his tongue against his lips,

"You had fun though, right?" He almost sounded worried. Hux rolled his eyes,

"Of course I had fun, I haven't done anything like that in years. That being said I'm incredibly used to getting lots of sleep and I'm currently on none and I start a shift at work in a few hours."

"Can you call in?" Kylo questioned quietly, his gaze suddenly turned away from Hux, who was looking at him in confusion. 

"Don't you need to get to work too?" He raised a single eyebrow. 

"Not till tomorrow, no. Monday isn't a super busy check-in day so there's usually a smaller staff." 

"I can't not go to work." 

"I wanted to spend the day with you." 

Kylo's voice made him sound like he was hiding pain. Hux had stopped walking, unbeknownst to Kylo who still continued for a few strides before realizing there wasn't another body next to him. He promptly turned around and looked at Hux, lips parted in silence. Hux stared back at him,

"What?" 

"You heard me. Fucking hell Hux, you're enjoyable to be with."

Hux shifted his weight between his feet before he started walking again,

"I need a shower." He grumbled once he got to Kylo, the two striding in-step with one another. Perfectly in sync. 

"You can use mine." Kylo suggested, causing Hux to laugh once again,

"I don't have clothes or a towel at your place, nor shampoo or soap. I can promise that whatever detangling conditioner you use will not work on my hair." 

"I mean, you do have the option to leave stuff at my place if you wanted to, I won't do anything weird to it." 

Hux had to prevent himself from stopping in his tracks once again. Kylo's words had wedged themselves deep in his gut and retained a grip that he couldn't shake off. He didn't know what leaving stuff at Kylo's apartment would entail. 

Would it just collect in a gradual pile until being at his place without warning would be convenient and easy? Was it an excuse to get him to start leaving stuff at his place as an reason for him to have to visit when he realized he needed that thing? 

The second question seemed ridiculous, Hux realized, it wasn't a mind game. 

"Yes, but right now I don't have anything at your place and as comfortable as that sweater of yours was, it's huge on me. It's too warm out to go out like that." 

"Oh..." Kylo trailed off and Hux wasn't sure if he had meant to say anything else or not. Hux nudged his shoulder with his own,

"Come on, lets go to my place." Hux wasn't going to give him another option, figuring that if he didn't want to come he would probably just go off on his own. Yet, like a puppy he followed directly at his heels, eyes widened as the wind continued to misplace and make a mess of his hair. 

Hux knew his apartment was much different from Kylo's. It was a bit larger, no brick walls in sight but plain grey ones instead. Everything was incredibly plain design wise, nearly minimalistic but not in the way someone might see in an urban furniture magazine. He had purchased all of his furniture from IKEA several years back and simply hoped every day that none of it would fall apart. It wasn't very clean, and the design of it all was never what he had expected it to be in his head but he felt weird rearranging his furniture every few weeks. 

Partially, he only found himself moving furniture when he was bored. It was something to do and he could at least say he moved around. 

Hux didn't say anything about Kylo continuously stepping on the back of his shoe, despite the fact that it irritated him. He didn't want Kylo to stop, almost finding some sort of comfort in him being directly behind him. 

He fished his key out of his pocket once they reached the door, struggling with the lock for a moment before throwing the door open in front of him. He threw his key into the glass bowl on the tiny corner table and waited for Kylo to step inside so he could shut the door behind him. 

Kylo's eyes wandered around the room as the door clicked shut.

"You really weren't joking when you said your entire house would be IKEA furniture, huh?" 

Hux looked at him, a bit surprised. 

"How do you remember that?" Hux was sure it was something he had said to Lylo very early on in their friendship. Kylo looked at him and shrugged his shoulders,

"I had no reason to forget." 

Hux frowned before chewing on his bottom lip. His memory was impeccable and it impressed him immensely. 

"Alright, well I'm going to shower, you can just hang out out here. I should only be a few minutes." He brushed his fingers through the hair at the top of his head before disappearing into the bathroom. 

Hux shut the door behing him and walked over to the shower, twisting the knobs to start the water. He set the temperature at a little colder than what he usually did, unwilling to be seen by Kylo with red heat induced blotches marking his skin. He walked over at the counter and stared at himself in the mirror for a moment, grimacing at the dark circles under his eyes. He shook his head before pulling his shirt off.

Meanwhile, Kylo stayed in Hux's living room area, exploring a bit while trying not to be creepy about it. He traced the perimeter, walking slowly with his hands tucked behind his back. 

He wasn't quite sure what he was expecting out of Hux's living space, but he wasn't quite sure if he had expected this. Rather, he expected something almost sterile feeling, with floors so clean that one could see their face when they looked down. But it was so much more comfortable than that. 

 

He sat down on the grey sofa, subconsciously twisting his feet inward.   
The more he looked at everything, the more he realized that it did feel very much like Hux, down to the slight clutter. A small, barely noticeable smile curled onto his lips as he sat in silence. All he could hear was the shower water running and the gentle rattle of an air vent. 

After a few minutes he heard the bathroom door click open and he turned around only to see Hux with nothing on besides a towel wrapped around his waist. He was clutching at it in all hopes that it wouldn't fall off. Kylo swallowed hard, unsure if he should look away or not. Sure, he had seen Hux without a shirt on before but it had been an incredibly long time and he looked so different. He found himself admiring and memorizing the structure of his back until he disappeared into what Kylo had assumed was his bedroom. He wondered if that was the process the Hux always ran through after taking a shower. 

He turned back around and let his hands rest in his lap, patiently waiting for Hux to come back. It was only a few more minutes before he did, stepping into the living room area in black pants that hugged his waist and a red shirt that was tucked into the waistband. 

“You look good.” Kylo blurted out, his cheeks immediately flushing pink. 

“Thanks.” The corners or Hux’s mouth twitches up into a small, warm smile. He walked over to the sink, before grabbing a clear glass from the wood cabinet above him.

“You want anything?” He turned over his shoulder to look at Kylo one hand busy holding the cup under the running faucet. 

“I was actually kind of hoping that we could go somewhere?” Kylo said, his voice raising and making it sound like a question. 

“Where?” Hux questioned, turning the faucet off before turning around and leaning against the counter. 

“Can we go see a movie?” 

Hux’s mouth was busy, slowly sipping on his cold glass of water. He considered for a moment before draining the glass down his throats and setting it down on the counter. 

“Alright, what do you want to see?” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and walked over to the sofa where he sat down right next to Kylo. He pulled up the cinema’s website and went to show times before handing his phone to Kylo. He took it carefully before scrolling down to the bottom with one finger. Working his way up the listings on the web page, he looked at the brief synopsis for each one. He hesitated and looked at a mystery action movie. 

“How about this one?” He peered past the rim of his glasses to look at Hux.

Hux read for a moment before giving a nod.

“Sounds good to me.” He took his phone back and shit off the screen before standing up to go retrieve his wallet. Kylo stood up as well and walked over towards the door to wait for him. They took the stairs down to the lobby, the metal of each one echoing as they were stepped on. The bus stop was right outside Hux’s apparent building and much to their luck, had just pulled up as they walked out. After flashing their bus passes, they squeezed into a set of purple plastic seats that faced forward. Their knees and shoulders brushed together as the bus careened down the bumpy road. 

Once they reached the cinema, Kylo ended up paying for both of their tickets, refusing to let Hux pay for them or the food. They ordered a bucket of popcorn to share and two ices- Hux only wanting cherry and Kylo wanting a mix of cherry and blue raspberry. 

They sat in the back row of the theater, which wasn't very busy. After all, it was a Monday afternoon. 

Kylo felt nerves bubble up in his stomach, making him shift in his seat as the previews played. The loudness was almost deafening in his ears and he found it hard to concentrate. 

It wasn't until about half way through the movie that Kylo finally talked himself through moving his hand closer to Hux’s hand. He did it slowly, fingers inching forward centimeter by centimeter. Right when he got close Hux moved his hand to pick up his Icee. He drank from it, not taking his eyes away from the screen. 

Kylo waited, tapping his finger on his own leg. Hux put his cup back in the cup holder and returned his arm to his leg. He swallowed down whatever feeling had collected in the back of his throat and reached for Hux’s hand. He fumbled a bit, trying to feel for the blank spaces between his bony, calloused fingers. Hux helped him out, spreading his fingers wider and sliding his hand until Kylo was able to lace their fingers together. Hux locked their fingers in place, but didn't look away from the screen. 

Neither of them expected it to feel so natural.


	7. The Late Shift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hux doesn't like when Kylo picks up shifts at work in the middle of the night.

Hux was Hux about it. 

The whole hand holding ordeal. 

He spent the whole rest of the night in his apartment alone, once again not sleeping for another night. He didn’t text Kylo either, despite finally gaining his number after the movie had ended. It sat in his phone staring at him every time he unlocked his screen because the only time he unlocked his screen was to see if the message he had typed out had accidentally sent or not. 

He was being overly cautious about it, and he would admit that at the very least. Hux also avoided going to work, feeling too guilty about neglecting to text Kylo and scared that he’d show up and ask if something was wrong. Of course, something was wrong. Hux was feeling something he hadn't felt in a very long time and his mind had finally let him accept that the feelings were, indeed, current. They weren’t just old feelings that he was harboring. 

But, it had been twenty four hours since he had last seen Kylo and the guilt was starting to overwhelm him so he picked up his phone and looked again at the message that he had typed out at three in the morning. He deleted it, not feeling like barging in with a long winded message. 

‘Hey’ 

He sent it, though worried that it was a little too casual. When he was just about to shut his screen off, his phone vibrated in his hand. 

‘hey, glad you’re not dead’

‘Excuse me?’

‘just got worried that something happened to you is all..’ 

‘I’m fine. Sorry.’

‘its cool.. @ work, srry, gotta go’ 

Hux frowned at his phone, slightly put off at how Kylo texted. 

‘Alright.’

Hux’s fingers still hovered over the keyboard.

‘Can you text me when you leave?’ 

He sent another message, 

‘Or when you get home. So I know that you’re home and then I don't’ have to worry?’ 

He shut his screen off before he could embarrass himself further and went to get dressed for work so he’d have something to distract himself with. He didn’t even know if he had a shift scheduled, but it was something else to do until Kylo texted him back. The feeling of neediness was washing over him and he didn’t know how to react. 

Hux took the shortest possible route to work, refinding the old shortcuts he used to take if he was running late. 

He walked in, only to see Mitaka standing behind the counter, somewhat struggling to work the ice cream scooper. Their eyes met and Mitaka’s whole body seemed to relax,

“Hux! So glad you're here, I'm kinda swamped.” The ice cream scooper had fallen into the container of vanilla chocolate swirl without him noticing. 

Hux looked around, noticing only a few people sitting around. He raised an eyebrow at Mitaka,

“Swamped huh?” He questioned, stepping behind the counter and throwing the loop of an apron over his head. 

“I've never had to do this alone before! If anything I'm usually stuck in the back cleaning stuff or making flavors, they only made me come up here because you weren't here. You alright, by the way? It's not like you to miss work.”

Hux had rolled his sleeves up to just above his elbows. He bent over and grabbed the scooper, easily transferring the ice cream into the bowl on the counter. 

“I'm… fine. Just got in touch with an old friend. Must've slipped my mind to call in.” 

“Old friend? Poe Dameron?” Mitaka asked, and Hux have him a puzzled look.

“No, but how do you even know about him? You didn't go to high school with me.”

“He pops up in my suggested friends on MySpace because of you.” He shrugged. 

“Since when have we been MySpace friends?” 

“Not the point, who did you go out with?” 

“I came here to avoid talking about him, do you think we could do that?” Hux mumbled, shoving the bowl forward to the customer in front of him.

“Didn't go well? Was he different than what you-”

“Mitaka, please.” Hux cut him off sternly, looking straight at him before disappearing into the back room. He mumbled incoherent words under his breath as he stepped around the corner, diving behind a shelf. He pulled his phone briefly out of his back pocket only to see that there weren't any new messages. Shoving his phone back into his back pocket, he walked back out into the main area. 

“Sorry.” Mitaka mumbled as he scrubbed at a spoon with hot water.

“It didn't go bad. It went… perfect.” Hux slid his hand along the edge of the sink. 

“So then what's the problem?”

“Seeing him brought back old feelings.” Hux shrugged. It was the first time he had admitted it out loud. 

Mitaka leaned back with his elbows on the counter, a small smirk on his lips, 

“You gonna do anything about it?”

“What? Fuck- I don't… I don't know.” Hux muttered, desperately wishing he had something to occupy his hands with.

“I think it would be good for you. Just saying.” 

“I pushed him so far out of my damn mind that I didn’t even recognize him when I first saw him.” Hux shook his head.

“Why did you push him out?”

Hux bit his tongue, wishing he would have dropped the conversation before. 

\--

“Thanks for help covering the late shift, I know you hate these.” Sawyer gave a tired smile as Kylo slid out of his heat. 

“Nah, they’re not bad. Easy shift, never really busy. Basically getting paid for nothing.” THey walked back into the break room together just as another employee that Kylo couldn’t remember the name of slipped past them. 

“True. Still though, kinda wasted the rest of your day sleeping in so late. Oh well, see ya’ whenever man.” He gave a small wave before shutting his locker and walking away.

Kylo grabbed his stuff from the small metal container and shoved his phone into his pocket without even checking to see if there were any new messaged. 

Once home, the first thing he did was strip from his clothes and take a shower, letting the scalding hot water flow down his bare back. Unlike with Hux, it wouldn’t leave red blotches on his skin. 

It was a few minutes before four in the morning when Kylo finally sat in his bed. He grabbed his phone and instantly wished he had looked at it earlier. Before he even unlocked his phone he swiped through the long list of notifications sitting on his lockscreen. He couldn’t remember the last time he had that amount of notifications. 

They were all from Hux. 

He opened his messages app and scrolled all the way up before beginning to read all of them. 

‘Can you text me when you leave?’ There was a few hours of gap between that message and the rest of them. 

‘Hi again… I hope work went well… You’ve seen me work, I think it's only fair I get to see you work? Or is that dumb… Not being with you today sucked, I had gotten use to you being there… Or me being there…’ Kylo paused for a moment before continuing to read, 

‘I had this whole thing typed out for you but… Damn… I dont know why I cant send it… I don't know why I can tell you… Im sorry… Im sorry I didn’t text you for twenty four hours and honestly… no that’ll just sound stupid in text… I can't sleep… I’m so fucking tired of being alone all the time. I push everyone away and I don’t mean to?’

Kylo scrolled back up and counted through fifty different text messages. A line of worry creased his forehead the more he read. He tried to convince himself that Hux was just tired because this wasn’t like him. 

‘hux? go 2 sleep, please.’ Was all Kylo responded with before silencing his phone and shutting off the screen. He set it down on his bedside table before turning over in bed and pulling the blankets up. 

\-- 

Hux woke up the next morning groggy but grateful that he had finally gotten some sleep. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with the palms of his hands before reaching for his phone which sat on the table beside his bed. 

There was a lone message that had come from Kylo at about four in the morning. 

Hux frowned, a feeling of hatred towards whatever manager had scheduled him for that shift. His eyes flicked up to check the time, but instead caught wave of several messages he didn’t recall sending. 

“Wh-” He sat up slightly, cheeks growing hot as he reread them. Hux realized that in a sleep deprived state, he must’ve finally mustered up the courage to send something more to Kylo. He was deeply regretting it. Half of the messages were incoherent, a few even mistyped and Hux wanted to throw his phone out the window for allowing himself to do what he did. His best option, he thought, was to pretend it never happened. 

‘Hey, sorry you had to work so late. Who do you need me to fire?’ He sent, his thumbs twiddling just above the screen for a moment. He wasn't expecting an immediate reply so he threw the blankets off of himself and stumbled into the bathroom. A moment later he came back and there was a new message on his phone.

‘chose that shift myself, it’s not as hard as you think’

‘Sorry that I like my sleep.’

‘were you tired last night?’ 

‘I hadn’t slept since the night before we played Mario so… I guess yeah.’

‘u just said u like your sleep weirdo.’ 

‘I do.’

‘yet you contradicted yourself.’ 

‘I did.’ 

‘can i come over?’ 

Hux looked at the time, actually managing to lock in what time it actually was that time before sending a response, 

‘What are we doing?’   
‘dunno, just wanna come over and hang.’

‘Can I ask you something first?’

‘yea ?’ 

‘Why on earth do you type like that?’ 

‘easier. be there soon.’

Hux underestimated what he thought Kylo's definition of soon was. While he figured he'd have time to sit in bed for a few more minutes before going into the kitchen to make breakfast, he barely even had time to consider what to have for breakfast before Kylo was at his door. 

“Fuck..” He muttered, running back into his room and throwing on a pair of sweatpants and a shirt that he was hoping he hadn't already worn that week before dashing back towards the door. He skidded to a stop, threw the lock and opened the door just to see Kylo standing right in front of him.

“Hey.” There was a small smirk on his lips.

“What's that look for?” Hux asked, stepping away from the door and back into the kitchen to continue making his coffee.

“I just can't recall ever seeing casual Hux before. I like it, it's oddly… comforting.” Kylo shrugged, hands shoved in the pockets of his hoodie as he leaned studied the counter for a moment. He turned around and sat down on a clear spot, leaning a forward a bit so he didn't hit the wooden cabinets above. 

“Glad I could amuse you.” He glanced over at Kylo, a smile lingering on the corner of his mouth. 

“I don't know if it's amusement as much as… something else.” He swung his legs a bit but not enough to hit the lower cabinets under him. 

“Something else?” Hux questioned as he walked over to him. 

“Just make your coffee.” Kylo mused, eye’s meeting Hux’s.

“Hard when you're blocking the sugar.” Hux mumbled, standing only about a foot in front of him. 

“Oh?” 

“Yeah it's…. behind you.” 

Kylo felt around briefly behind him before managing to grab the jar that it was held in,

“This?” Kylo asked, turning the jar around in his hand. Hux went to grab it, but Kylo pulled it away. 

“What the hell?” Hux asked, the coffee maker indicating completion with a beep on the other side of the counter. 

“Strawberries are much sweeter.” Kylo mumbled, still holding a tight grasp on the jar of sugar. 

“I can't very well put strawberries in my coffee.” 

“Of course not, but you can have them with your coffee. 

“I left them at your place, remember?” 

Kylo laughed and shook his head,

“I know, but that's not what i'm referring to.”

Hux stopped,

“What?” 

“Do you want strawberries with your coffee?” Kylo asked again. Hux stepped closer, only to end up grabbing Kylo’s fingers as well as the jar. He could feel something buzz though his fingers. 

“I don't know what you're trying to say Kylo.” Hux went to pull away but Kylo wouldn't let go, holding onto his fingers. 

“Don't walk away.” Kylo frowned, keeping his hold on him. 

“Kylo I'm just going to the other side of the room.”

“That's too far.” He whined, bottom lip slipping into a pout.

“Then come with me.” Hux could feel the warmth his his cheeks creeping down to his beck. 

Kylo’s face lit up and he slid off the counter, still not letting go of Hux’s hand.

Hux managed to open the jar and spoon in a spoonful of sugar into his coffee with just one hand. Kylo stood close behind him, fumbling with Hux’s fingers with his own as he peered over his shoulder. Out of nowhere, Kylo ducked his head into the side of Hux’s neck. 

Hux froze,

“Kylo?” He asked, turning his head slightly to the side.

“Hush.” Kylo mumbled, not moving from where he was. 

Hux abandoned all thoughts of his coffee mug that was on the counter. 

“Come on.” Hux suggested, moving suddenly and pulling Kylo with him to his room. 

“What are we doing?” Kylo asked, trailing closely behind.

“Exactly what you said you wanted to do. Just hanging out. And by hanging out, I mean resting. I can see you're still tired.” 

“I'm not tired.” Kylo mumbled, trying to hide his yawn as he watched Hux pull the blankets back. 

“Get settled in. I'll be back in a second.” Hux pulled his hand lose and disappeared from the room. He went back into the kitchen and took a drink from his coffee before taking a deep breath.   
Once again he took a sip before setting it down on the counter where it would sit until he next remembered to clean it up. 

He walked back into his room and found Kylo curled up in his bed, 

"Where'd you go?" Kylo asked, sitting up a bit. 

"Well I wasn't about to waste coffee."

"You can drink coffee before falling asleep?" Kylo sounded surprised and it made Hux laugh, 

"Yeah- caffine doesn't really effect me much. Plus it was two sips, it isn't going to do anything anyways." Hux shrugged before climbing over Kylo to wedge himself between him and the wall. He had barely even gotten the covers pulled up when Kylo turned over and wrapped himself around Hux's torso. 

"Wait wait wait- don't crush your glasses." Hux muttered, reaching down and carefully removing them from his face. He leaned over and set them down on the bedside table. 

"Thank you." Kylo yawned, not trying to cover it up this time. 

"I don't like that you take such late shifts." Hux confessed, watching as Kylo wrapped himself around his torso once more. 

"They're not that bad."

"Yeah, but look how tired it makes you. Plus, that's when all the weirdos are out."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying I don't want anything to happen to you."

Kylo looked up at him and gave a soft smile, 

"I'll just beat them up, don't worry too much."

"I absolutely will worry. You know this." Hux looked down and brushed Kylo's hair back behind his ear. 

"Do you not want me taking late shifts anymore?" He questioned, a light hum erupting from his throat. 

"I'd perfer you didn't but... I can't control you."

"I won't do them anymore." Kylo said simply. 

"Kylo I-"

"No. I don't want you to have to sit and worry. I don't need to do them, it's not like I'll lose my job or anything." He nuzzled his nose into Hux's side. Hux still watched him as he stared to run his fingers through his hair slowly. 

"Okay..." Hux trailed off, feeling like talking would just ruin the moment. 

"Do you sleep sitting up?" 

"No... I just... I don't want to say watch you. That sounds creepy." Hux mumbled. 

"Sleep with me- oh. Uh- you know what I mean." Kylo's cheeks illuminated with a pink hue. 

"I'll sleep when I figure out what your strawberry metaphor is." Hux chuckled. 

"Oh! It's not exactly a metaphor, its.... well. You probably don't remember but in high school, one time we were out doing something and you kept complaining about how the cold was drying out your lips so you made us go to get Chapstick. But the only kind they had was strawberry and it smelled terribly artificial but you still used it anyway. I don't think I've ever actually seen someone finish an entire tube of it but.. you did and you could've bought some other scent.. or flavor.. whatever but you didn't. You kept using it and I started associating strawberries with you. Then I just really started liking strawberry flavored stuff but I couldn't help but wonder about strawberry flavored kisses, you know? So thats what the strawberry thing is, I suppose. It's dumb I'm sorry." 

Hux looked at Kylo with widened eyes, 

"You thought about kissing me?" He questioned, Kylo only blushed harder. 

"Yeah- I thought about it a lot Hux, how could I not."

"I don't use strawberry anymore." He seemingly changed the subject, but Kylo just shrugged, 

"Doesn't matter, it would still be a strawberry kiss just because that's- that's what I was set on." 

"I'm sorry that I didn't know."

"How would you have known? Fuck- there's no way I ever would've told you back then. No matter how bad I wanted it I would've waited for you to initiate-" 

"Get up here." Hux cut him off, pulling his hand away from his hair. 

"I asked you to please get up here." 

Kylo unwrapped himself from around Hux and sat up so they were at nearly the same height. He was a little confused, not sure what was happening but something about it made his insides feel shaky. 

"How did you imagine these.. uh... kisses to go?" Hux asked, fidgeting with the blanket between his fingers. 

"O-oh... They were... soft? I suppose. Definitely soft, but it felt like there was so much more behind it. At least, thats what I imagined." 

"So.. like this?" Hux questioned before leaning forward, holding his hand up to Kylo's cheek and kissing him as gently as he possibly could. There lips barely touched. A small tease. Everything inside of him felt on edge, his senses very much heightened. 

Kylo stared at him with wide eyes, his face now entirely flushed. It took Hux a moment to realize that he probably couldn't see as well without his glasses on. 

"Uh-" Kylo sounded breathless. 

"What about..." He closed the space between them once again and let their lips meet completely this time. He was silently hoping that he couldn't feel that his hands were shaking. Hux didn't pull away, lingering where he was and as Kylo went to open his mouth he interrupted him once again. 

Kylo pulled back just enough to create a small gap between their mouths, 

"E-exactly like that." He whispered, voice shaking. 

Hux gave a small nod, 

"Worth the wait?" 

"Almost kinda sad that I missed out on that for so long, but...yes." A smile curled into his lips. 

Hux sank down and pulled Kylo with him. Kylo instantly re-formed himself into the curve of Hux's torso and nuzzled his face into his chest. Hu's fingers once again found their way to Kylo's hair. 

"Thank you." Kylo muttered, glancing at him. 

"You don't need to thank me."

"I want to Armie, please?" 

Hux raised his eyebrows at the name, Kylo hadn't used it since they were in high school. 

"Alright dear." Hux returned the sleepy smile that Kylo was still giving him. 

"I like that." Kylo yawned and let his eyes shut gently. 

"Dear?"

"Yeah, it..." 

Hux let out a breath that sounded like a laugh as he watched Kylo fall asleep very suddenly. 

He watched him for a while, twirling his hair on his finger and just taking him in. 

Hux felt much less weight on his back, a weight that had been there for years almost like his entire soul was just waiting for this release. 

He let himself accept that maybe it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ps- Kylo and Hux's story is far from over!! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!


	8. Oranges and Honey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hux finds himself sudenly very hyper-aware of things he’s never noticed about Kylo.

The sun was breaking through the thick curtains that covered the window, illuminating the sheets that covered the two men that were just beginning to break out of a deep sleep. Hux attempted to turn over, but a weight on his lower chest stopped him from doing so. He groaned, eyes still closed as he tried once again. When his second trial was a failure, he let his eyes open. 

In the warm, nearly afternoon light, Hux found himself having to squint as his eyes adjusted to the sun. He glanced over and his shoulders dropped. 

“Get off me.” He grumbled, still not completely awake. 

“Somebody's grumpy.” Kylo mumbled back, much to Hux’s surprise as he assumed that he was still sleeping. 

“I just want to turn over Ren, I’m uncomfortable.”

“Mmmh… I’ll only let you if you turn towards me.” Kylo seemed to wrap himself tighter around Hux. 

“Why?”

“More romantic.” 

Hux laughed and rolled his eyes, 

“Fine, just let me turn over.” 

Kylo uncoiled from him and watched through half closed eyes as Hux turned to face him. A small smile spread on his lips, 

“Better.” He moved closer to him and tried to feel around under the sheets for his hand, the smile on his face falling away into a frown when he couldn’t find it. 

“Watch where that hand is going.” Hux chuckled, bringing up the hand that he had been looking for and instead closing it into a fist except for his index finger. He brought it up to Kylo’s nose and slowly let his finger trace from the top of the bridge all the way down. 

Kylo’s eyes went cross as he watched his finger. 

“How are you so damn marvelous?” Hux asked quietly. 

Kylo’s cheeks turned red, 

“Marvelous?”

Hux simply nodded his head and let his finger dip down to his lips. Kylo stuck his tongue out slightly, just enough to touch Hux’s finger. 

“Weirdo.” Hux mumbled, a small smile forming in the corner of his mouth. Kylo shrugged and moved closer to him, once again attempting to entangle himself around Hux’s torso. 

“Did you sleep well?” Kylo asked.

“Yeah, you’re warm, it was nice actually.” 

Kylo smiled,

“I’m glad I could keep you warm. It was nice.. being with someone and still having them there when you wake up, you know?” 

Hux didn’t ask what he meant. 

“Just nice having someone in general.” 

They both laid in silence for awhile, nothing but their breathing and occasional rustle of sheets filling the room. Every so often, they could hear a bird outside the window.

“I wanted to ask you something but it's... embarrassing and dumb.” Kylo muttered, burying his face just under Hux’s neck. 

“Im sure its not that bad.” Hux told him, noticing that Kylo’s hair smelled like oranges and honey. He inhaled again, wondering how he had never noticed it before. He was also hyper-aware of his hot breath leaking through his shirt and onto his collarbones. A shiver built within him that he had to force himself to hold back. 

Kylo mumbled something incoherent into Hux’s shirt. 

“Can’t talk into my chest if you want me to hear you, you know.” 

Kylo pulled his face away slightly,

“I said, how do you feel about eating ass?” 

Hux found himself nearly choking on a breath of air,

“What?” 

“Like I said, it’s a dumb question.” 

“It’s not dumb it just… it caught me by surprise. 

“Have you never done it?” 

Hux pauses for a moment.

“No, I haven’t.” 

Kylo looked at him with wide eyes,

“Tell the truth.” 

“I am telling the truth, idiot.” 

“Okay, but would you do it?” 

“Yeah? Haven’t doesn’t mean I wouldn’t.” 

“Would you do it right now?” 

“Holy hell, you’re seriously horny?” Hux noticed the blush raising in Kylo’s cheeks.

“When am I not.” Kylo snorted. 

“Or maybe I’ll make you wait?” Hux smirked. 

A low whine slipped out of Kylo’s throat,

“No fair.” He pouted and Hux brought his hand up to his jaw, holding its smooth, slack structure between his fingers.

“I can always make the waiting period longer. I know I can wait but you look as if even the slightest touch could send you over the edge.” 

Kylo’s eyes looked doe-ish as he tried to suppress a moan,

“Keep talking…” He begged.

Hux raised a single eyebrow,

“I'd like to know more, Ren. I think I’d like to know what will bring a moan out of those lips...” He hummed, pressing a bit more pressure into his jaw before letting go. Before Kylo could talk, Hux ran his thumb over his bottom lip slow enough to draw a shiver out of him. One of Kylo’s rough hands found Hux’s waist, pushed his shirt up and out of the way and dug his fingers into the warm skin. He managed to move himself upwards until their faces were mere centimeters apart. 

“Your hand is cold.” Hux muttered, wondering how when every other part of him seemed to be burning hot.

“Oh well. By the way? You will.” Kylo whispered, answering his earlier proposal and preventing him from talking any further with a sloppy, open mouthed kiss. 

At the first opportunity, Hux let his tongue slip into Kylo’s mouth and run along the front of his top teeth. Their slight crookedness felt oddly comforting. 

Hux managed to slip his leg between Kylo’s, nestling his thigh firmly under Kylo’s obvious erection. His moan was muffled by Hux’s mouth. 

“Going to need to do better than that.” Hux smirked as he pulled away for just a moment before going right back to biting and sucking on Kylo’s bottom lip. They could both notice it starting to swell. 

But it didn’t stop them.

Kylo let out a whimpered moan just as he began to grind down onto Hux’s thigh. His lip had started to bleed, the blood dribbling down off the curve of his bottom lip. The crimson red stained his lip and chin as it went.

Hux pulled away from Kylo’s mouth and his eyes slowly looked up and met his wide-blown pupils. The brown irises surrounding them almost completely disappearing with the black. 

“Tell me what you’re into.” Hux insisted. 

“E-everything?” Kylo stammered, whimpering suddenly when he realized Hux was trying to pull his leg away. Not wanting to lost the friction Kylo clamped down, trying to keep Hux’s leg there. Hux decided not to act on his resistance. 

“Whatever you want.” He manages to shrug,

“or we can just look through your PornHub history.” 

Kylo flushed a deep red from his neck to his ears. 

“Somehow that seems less embarrassing.” 

Hux managed to get his leg out from between Kylo’s,

“Then get your phone.” 

Kylo quickly turned over and fumbled to get his phone off the the bedside table. His sweating hands managed to prevent his fingerprint from being read. Groaning, he manually entered his passcode and handed his phone over to Hux. Hux had a smug smile on his face as he opened up Safari.

“It’s in your frequently visited? Really?” He laughed, tapping the small icon. 

“It’s not always porn! People put real movies on there for free sometimes.” He propped himself up with his elbow, hand resting on the side of his face.

“You can see fine without your glasses?” Hux asked, suddenly changing the subject.

“I can see close, just far away I have a problem with.” He watched as Hux entered into his history. 

“Ah, how recent are these ones? I assume these ones are supposed to be because of their likeness to me?” Hux pointed to about 5 videos, one after another. 

“Last week? I think…” 

“I knew you wouldn’t be a top but i’m quite glad I’ve got confirmation of that.” 

“Huh?” 

“I’m not a bottom Ky.” 

“Honestly I don’t think I could picture you as one but that just might be a me thing.” 

Hux laughed and kept scrolling,

“Name calling is an interesting one.” He mused,

“Yeah?”

“So like… Some of these we can do. However I don’t just have restraints lying around but I’m sure we can find some at a shop? If you’d like.” 

“You don’t even need to ask.” Kylo snorted. 

Hux gave Kylo an amused look and shut off his phone screen. He reached forward and pushed a loose strand of hair from his face,

“Tell you what. Show me what these lips can do any maybe I’ll eat your ass.” 

Kylo scrambled to put his phone back on the table before burying under the sheets. Hux lifted his hips high enough to get his drawstring pajama pants off over his ass. Kylo nearly tore his hands away as he laid between Hux’s legs, ass up in the air and creating a silly looking sight above the covers. 

Hux was about to speak when Kylo unexpectedly took his half-erect cock into his mouth in one smooth movement. 

“Oh sweet fuck-“ Hux shuddered, forcing his head back into the pillow. 

Kylo hummed around his cock before pulling up a little and starting to bob his head. Hux’s cock would press against the back of his throat every time, but Kylo didn’t seem to be phased by it. Hux knee his size was about average, yet he was still impressed. 

Throwing back the dark sheet, Hux finally took a first look at Kylo, his lips appearing to be even more swollen. Kylo pulled off completely and started applying small, slow licks to his head. His eyes flickered up, almost suddenly realizing that Hux could see him. They held each other stare, Hux’s pale lips permanently parted as Kylo started sucking gently just on his head. 

“Kylo… fuck.” Hux moaned, his fingers fisting at the sheets. He managed to bring one up and over to Kylo’s head, letting it tangle in his hair.

“Take the whole thing you little slut.” Hux groaned, watching as Kylo’s eyes widened. Kylo once again let Hux’s cock slide all the way down to the back of his throat, his nose brushed against the skin just above. 

“Fuck.. let your jaw go slack.” Hux told him, waiting until he felt a bit more room before he started thrusting up into Kylo’s throat. He could feel the drool sliding down the very base of his cock and onto his balls. 

Hux knew he wasn’t going to last long. 

He pulled Kylo up by his hair until just his head stayed buried between his swollen lips. 

“Don’t swallow yet.” Hux commanded, looking as Kylo caught eye contact and as a form of an answer. 

It took a moment, but Hux finally came in Kylo’s mouth, the room filling with obscene moans from both of them. 

Kylo pulled off, careful not to let any cum spill from his mouth. Hux looked up at him, his chest rising and falling heavily as he stared at Kylo’s lips. His lips were stained red from the earlier blood, swollen and wet from spit and precum. 

“Aren’t you a sight.” Hux breathed, breathless as he saw a small, cautious smile form on Kylo’s lips. 

“Swallow for me.” Hux spoke again. Kylo swallowed, taking a moment to breathe before sticking his tongue out to show Hux that it was all gone. 

“Good boy.” Hux sat up a little bit,   
“Pants off, get on your back, though I’m sure you’re not going to last long.” He almost sounded amused. 

He had never seen anyone move that fast. By the time he got to his knees, Kylo already had his pants off and was laying down. 

“Can you get your legs over you head?” Hux questioned and Kylo quickly nodded. He nearly shuddered at the thought, not having any prior knowledge that Kylo was flexible. 

Kylo appeared almost folded in half, his back only slightly curved, ass in the air and his legs on either side of his head. 

His shirt had slid down slightly, revealing his lower back, his hips and a small sliver of his spine. Hux could just barely see it under the muscle that was there, yet his eyes followed the bone under his pale skin until it disappeared back under the darkness of his shirt. 

“You truly are something.” Hux repeated, grabbing Kylo’s hips to keep him steady. 

Kylo could only moan in response.


	9. Bubbling Emotions and Bubble Baths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neither Kylo nor Hux realized how many bottled up emotions they truly had

Hux let his fingers kneed into the muscle on his hips.

Kylo whimpered, 

“Why are your hands always so cold.” 

“What, you want me to stop?” Hux questioned.

Kylo’s eyes grew wide, 

“No! No no no. Please no.” He said quickly, making Hux laugh. 

“Then you’ll just need to deal with it, dear.” 

Hux held Kylo’s hips more firmly, his fingers digging into his skin. He looked down at Kylo’s bare ass before dipping his head down, letting his lips brush against the skin between his hole and his balls. Letting his tongue poke slightly out from between his lips, he licked a stripe to his rim and let a smirk draw in the corner of his mouth when a whine came from Kylo’s throat. 

“Is that how quiet they are in your little videos? Are those tiny whimpers the best you can do?” Hux inquired, his nose brushing at his skin just above his hole. 

“N-no.” 

"Mmh... That's what I thought. You're going to have to beg for what you want babe."

Kylo's lips parted, falling open every so slightly as he looked up at Hux. 

"You- I want you." He gasped, swallowing around his words. 

Hux cocked his head to the side, 

"Already got me. Is that all you want?" 

"N-No! I want you to... want you to eat my ass, please." Kylo spoke in a soft, whiney tone. 

"Can't hear you babe."

"I want you to eat my ass, please Hux I need- fuck, please I'll do anything you want, just please." Kylo stared at Hux as he spoke, his bottom lip wobbling as he spoke louder. 

Hux had a smug smile on his face

"So egar, so greedy. You're so desperate for such simple touches, hm?"

Before Kylo could respond, Hux had brought his tongue to Kylo's rim, letting it circle the outside. The words that had begun to build in Kylo's throat instead tumbled out as a choked moan. His eyes fell shut, and he fought to open them once again, wanting to watch what Hux was doing. His cock twitched against his stomach as he took in Hux, kneeling just in front of his back, hands keeping his hips steady as he helped him hold the position he was in. The position wasn't easy for Kylo to hold but he didn't want to get out of it, not when he had a full view of Hux's actions. 

Hux lapped his tongue over Kylo's hole which was already throbbing, desperately wanting him to do more. Almost like Hux had read his thoughts, he pulled back a little bit, taking one hand off of his hip in order to rest it on his ass, letting his fingers dip into the flesh. Hux dipped his head back down and let his tongue slide into Kylo. 

Kylo brought his hand up to his own hair, grasping at the strands nearest to his face. He pulled it with shaking hands, 

"Hux... o-oh.." His words kept turning into moans like melting butter. Hux couldn't help but smirk against his skin at the sound, at the very thought that Kylo was quickly and willingly unraveling under his touch. He knew Kylo had said that he would do anything, but he wasn't ready to use that beg just quite yet. Not during their first time. 

Hux removed his tonuge and let it run from his rim all the way to the small of his back, drawinging a shiver from the submissive that was withering under him. Then, he ran his tonuge back up until he was able to mouth over the area surrounding Kylo's hole. His hot breath seemed to target every single hair and bit of peach-fuzz on Ren's body. Kylo squirmed under Hux's warm tongue, crying out when he plunged his tongue into him as deep as both of their bodys would allow. The man's hand came around and ghosted over his balls and the length of his cock. Ren shuddered again, but once Hux took his cock in his hand, Kylo could no longer help himself. He cried out, his back arching, making his hips drive his ass right into Hux's face. 

The only partially legible word that spilled from Kylo's still swollen lips was Hux's name. It came out fractured, halfway functioned into a loud moan that echoed off the walls and rebounded into Hux's ear. Still, Hux maintained eye contact, his eyes locked in position of focus but alternating between his eyes and his lips. Normally it was difficult for him to get hard again so fast after finishing but he couldn't help but remember how wet and warm Kylo's mouth had been around his cock. It was impossible not to think about. 

He pulled back a bit, his lips wet from his own saliva. 

"What do you want baby? You wanna cum like this? Or do you want me to properly fuck you and see just how much of a slut you are."

"F-fuck me Hux, please." Kylo whined and Hux promptly let him come out of the position that he was   
in, his hips gently falling down into the plushness of the mattress. He took a moment let his body recalibrate the feeling of laying normal. All the while Hux had crawled on top of him, bending down to place open mouthed kisses on Kylo's mouth. He slid his tongue in, the taste of Hux and himself filling his tastebuds. He caught Ren's bottom lip between his teeth and sucked on it gently, making sure that it would certainly be bruised later on. 

Kisses slowly peppered down his jawline, then down his neck and all the way down to shoulder where Hux bit into his warm skin. He let his tongue glide over the now sensitive spot before leaving a trail of hickeys from the spot to just under Kylo's ear. 

Kylo looked up at him with wide eyes, 

"People are going to see those Hux, why did you do that?" 

"I want people to see them, I want everyone to know that you're mine, Kylo. I want the whole damn world to know." 

For just a moment, Kylo's eyes softened, all of the lust built up in him suddenly intertwining with emotions that he had been keeping down deep inside of him. 

"Hux..." 

"C'mon now, don't get all gooey on me just yet, want to make sure you get properly fucked first." Hux nibbled at the base of Kylo's jaw. He then got back up to his knees and placed himself between his legs. He grasped the hem of Kylo's shirt and looked at him, cueing him to sit up a bit so he could finally pull the top away from his body. He let out a small breath, unsteady breath as he let his eyes trail from Kylo's lips all the way down to his cock. 

"You're so damn beautiful, Kylo. I dont... shit." He shook his head and instead went down to spread Kylo's legs further. He adjusted his hips a bit so he could get a better angle. His cock barely brushed up against Kylo’s hole and an obscene moan slipped from his lips. He looked up at Kylo, waiting to make eye contact with him.

“Do we need lube? He asked, but Hux shook his head,

“Unless you want it, but you’re already pretty ready.” 

“Then fuck me.” 

Hux didn’t need to hear him ask twice.   
He took hold of his own cock and slowly guided himself into Kylo, a singular moan escaping from his parted lips as he reached his hilt with no problem. 

“How big are your plugs that you can manage this?” Hux asked breathlessly and Kylo’s cheeks flushed red. 

“How do you-?” 

“You just seem like a plug princess and if you weren’t I certainly intended on making you one. I love the thought of having you walk around in public with… oh we really need to talk about that later.” His voice suddenly got low and raspy as his mind seemed to think of something. Kylo desperately wanted to know what was on his mind, but the thought quickly vanished as Hux drew his hips back slowly, pulling nearly all the way out before thrusting fully back to his hilt. Kylo’s eyes squeezed shut from the sudden pleasure and only opened again when he felt two warm hands cup both sides of his head, slender fingers tangling into his dark hair. 

 

Hux’s thrusts kept a moderate pace, seeming both urgent and egear to get to their releases while also just wanting to savor every second. He brought the top of his body down, leaning in close to Kylo’s face and hovering just above his lips. Kylo let out a whine as he leaned upwards, trying to kiss Hux, who just shook his head, 

 

“Soon dear, promise.” 

Kylo’s bottom lip slipped into a pout and he clenched around Hux, making him moan.

“Please-“ Kylo whimpered, reaching up and grabbing onto Hux’s shoulders. Hux looked at him and noticed his glossy eyes. He didn’t even have it in him to deny him again. He let a breath out of his nose and granted him the satisfaction. Kylo whined in relief, desperately clinging onto him as he kissed him back. Neither of them let it cease Hux from thrusting or Kylo rolling his hips. 

Both of them had come into this situation with a different mindset. Hux wanting to explore Kylo’s interests and Kylo initiating the whole thing. That no longer mattered to them, not in the moment. 

After all, they had plenty of time for that. 

Years of repressed feelings and pining only to lose each other and then fall right back together like all of those years apart never happened. 

Now there they were, as close as two people could possibly be, holding back tears as they kissed needingly and gently fucked. They clung to each other as if letting go might mean that it wasn’t real. 

“H-Hux I’m-“ Kylo moaned into Hux’s mouth.

“Cum baby, I’m right behind you.” Hux mumbled, his cock twitching in Kylo’s hole, silently begging for release. Kylo’s fingers dug into Hux’s back as he came, cum splattering both of their stomachs and chests. Hux wasn’t far behind him, struggling to keep himself propped up as he came, He ended up collapsing onto Kylo’s chest, pent up emotions finally snapping him like a twig and breaking him. Breaking both of them. 

Kylo buried his face in the side of Hux’s neck, his tears wetting the warm skin. They laid there in silence, just holding each other and crying. It was Hux that broke the silence. 

“I love you so much.” He whispered, pulling away just enough so that he could look Kylo in the eyes.   
Both of their eyes were lined in red, their cheeks blotchy, but neither cared.

“I love you too.” Kylo uttered quietly, looking at Hux with wide, glassy eyes like he had never seen anything like him before in his life. He hadn’t, and that was something Kylo was one hundred percent sure of. 

“I think we both need a bath.” Hux still spoke quietly, using his thumb to wipe a wet streak off of Kylo’s stained cheeks.

“Bath? I haven’t taken a bath since…” Kylo trailed off, unable to remember a time. 

“Yeah, well I don’t feel like standing for long enough to take a shower.” 

Kylo gave a small laugh, 

“Okay, but I wanna sit between your legs.” 

“Wouldn’t want you anywhere else darling.” 

Hux peeled himself off of Kylo and rubbed at his face, trying to rid some of the aftereffects of his emotions. 

Kylo grabbed his hand as they walked to the bathroom and refused to let go as Hux filled the tub with warm water. It was a change. 

Hux got in first, laying back against the back of the tub, his head leaning back to rest on the tile as the water began to warm his body. Kylo eagerly got in after him, fitting himself between Hux’s legs and leaning back into his chest. Their hands found each other and their fingers linked together like it was just a natural position. 

“I feel so lucky.” Kylo spoke after a few minutes of peaceful silence. 

“I can say the same.” Hux told him, bringing his free hand out of the water and up to the side of Kylo’s head where he ran his fingers through his hair. 

“I don’t… I don’t know where I’d be if I hadn’t found you.” 

“Shh. Kylo no, that doesn’t matter. We’re here, I’m not going anywhere. No more what ifs.” Hux assured him, leaning his head forward to kiss the back of his head. Kylo let out a gentle sigh,

“I like that.” 

“And I like you.”

“Just like?”

It made Hux laugh,

“I like-like you.” He said in a childish tone, making Kylo laugh.

“Good, coz I like-like you too.” He squeezed His fingers gently. 

“I’m glad, because I’m not going anywhere unless you’re coming with.” 

Kylo tilted his head in curiosity,

“Where would you want us to go? If we could go anywhere?”


	10. Stories of Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When one of Hux's old friends shows up, he finds himself wanting to run

Kylo stood behind Hux, a gentle yet concentrated look on his face as he passed a comb through Hux’s hair.

 

“Sorry I got soap in your eye.” Hux mumbled, his eyes closed as he took in the gentle motion.

 

“I said it was okay Hux, no harm done, it happens all the time.”  


“I, know but it hurts like hell and I don’t want you to be in pain.”

 

Kylo stopped brushing for a moment and ducked down, pressing his lips to the back of his neck,

 

“Kyl-“

 

“Hush…” Kylo mumbled, wrapping his arms around Hux’s torso and pulling him closer.

 

Hux let out a small sigh, letting himself relax against the warm, dampness of Kylo’s bare chest.

 

“We should probably go be productive today.” Hux mentions, making eye contact with Kylo through the foggy mirror.

 

“Or we can lay in your bed and do absolutely nothing.” He lets his lips brush against his skin,

“Besides… I don’t have clean clothes.”

 

“You need to start bringing clothes with you baby.” Hux frowned, making Kylo look up suddenly,

 

“I can leave stuff here?” He tried to hide the excitement in his voice.

 

“Of course, wouldn’t it just be easier? Then we can go do stuff without having to run back and forth all the time.” He fought to turn around and kissed Kylo without hesitation.

 

Once they had dressed, Hux in fresh clothes and Kylo in his clothes from the prior day, they stopped at Kylo’s place and then walked back out into the brisk air.

 

“...Hux?” A voice said suddenly, making Hux turn around in confusion. In front of them stood Phasma. Somehow, she was just as Hux remembered her. Her white-blonde hair was cut short, swooped up into a quiff with some loose strands cascading down the side of her face. She wore a red coat that went down to her knees, and pressed black pants.

 

“Phasma?” Hux responded, a little shocked, frozen to the spot. As far as Hux could remember, she had never been one for hugs and he was at a bit of a loss at if he should go for a handshake or not. It felt too awkward and unnecessary.

 

“You’ve certainly grown up.” She smiles, crossing her arms over her chest. The sleeves of her coat slid up slightly, revealing a litter of small tattoos running up her wrists and forearms. Hux did not stare long enough to try and see what they were. Instead, he raised an eyebrow in question,

 

“What is that supposed to mean?”

 

“I just mean that you don’t seem like a shy kid anymore.” She shrugs, suddenly taking interest in Kylo who was standing behind him,

 

“No way… is that _the_ Kylo Ren?” She continued.

 

“The?” Kylo repeats, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

 

“Oh yeah- you should’ve heard Hux back in high school. I couldn’t get him to shut up about you. He was kind of annoying about it actually.” She laughs and Hux swears he's blushing all the way down to his chest. He can feel Kylo stand straighter in immediate interest behind him.

 

“What would he say?” Kylo questions, his voice brimming with curiosity  


“I’m begging you- please don’t.” Hux says, shutting his eyes like it would make the conversation disappear.

 

Kylo nudged his shoulder with his hand before keeping it on the spot,

 

“I wanna hear.”

 

Hux could hear the pout in his voice and let out a deep sigh,

 

“Fine- just… Let’s at least go get coffee or something.” He opened his eyes, noticing that Kylo was beside him now, a large grin on his face.

 

Hux was grateful for the lack of talking as they walked a few blocks down to a small coffee shop. He kept his bottom lip tucked tightly between his teeth with nearly enough force to draw blood if he really wanted to. It stopped it from wobbling however, a downside to the nerves that were bubbling up inside him from not knowing what stories that Phasma might tell. They were all embarrassing, but there were some that Phasma had managed to coax out of him back in the day that he had not even wanted to tell her.

 

Phasma grabbed the handle to the door, her head turning back to look at Kylo and Hux.

 

They found a booth in the back corner of the shop which was dimly lit and made the spot look a lot sleazier than it should have.

 

“So, spill.” Kylo sounded a little too egear for Hux’s taste.

 

“What do you want… cute shit or the raunchy stuff?”

 

“Oh jesus…” Hux let his face fall into his hands as he slumped forward towards the table.

 

Kylo let out a breathy laugh and extended a hand out to touch his back.

 

“C’mon baby, its cute.”

 

Phasma’s eyes widened suddenly,

 

“Hang on… you’re dating?” Her question and tone of surprise were boisterously loud.

 

“What the hell else did you think was going on?” Hux asked, lifting his reddened-face away from his hands.

 

“Just thought you were still pining after him.” She shrugged, a smirk curling at the edge of her mouth,

“Now I feel obligated to start with the raunchy stuff.”

 

“And I feel obligated to go to the bathroom.” Hux grumbled, pulling away and ignoring Kylo and Phasma’s pleas for him to come back.

 

Hux went into a bathroom and shut himself in in one of the grey-walled stalls. He hat down, let his elbows rest on his thighs as his hands fell back into his hands. He could feel the heat of embarrassment radiating off of his skin.

 

If there was one thing Hux hated, it was embarrassment. He had his fair share of it when he was young and learned that kids begin being unapologetic and unsympathetic about someone having an accident when they’re 8. Hux swore it wasn’t his fault, trying to blame drinking too much water from the drinking fountain during gym, trying to blame sitting in something wet. No one bought it and Hux barely bought his own story. He knew he had waited too long because he was too afraid to ask the teacher who had just yelled at him not too long before it happened. Yet this was different.

 

The things he had told Phasma he had only told her because he had no one else to tell and he couldn’t handle bottling it in anymore. Not to mention he knew her plans to leave the country and just figured that there would never be a chance that he would run into her again.

 

The outside door the the restroom groaned as it opened, it’s hinges clicking from frequent use.

Hux pulled his feet up, keeping them out of view.

 

“Hux?” Kylo asked, peering down to see if any of the stalls were occupied.

 

Hux didn’t respond and he heard Kylo sigh,

 

“I know you’re in here, I have all day to wait for you.”

 

“Don’t you have work?” Hux asked, frustrated with himself for answering.

 

“I can just call in.” Kylo shrugged, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

 

“If you call in you’re not getting any physical affection for a week.”

 

“I don’t think you can last the long.”

 

“Fuck off.” Hux mumbled, making Kylo laugh,

 

“Please just come out.”

 

“What did she tell you.”

 

“If you come out here I’ll tell you.”

 

Hux sighed as he stood up, wishing his face didn’t feel like fire. He unlocked the stall and walked out, staring at the gross tiles on the ground. He could only stomach them for so long before he forced himself to look up, meeting Kylo’s stare.

 

“Why did you run off?” Kylo asked, not moving from his position.

 

“That depends- what did she tell you.”

 

“Just that there were times where you wouldn’t shut up about me, that you were going to ask me to prom but you freaked out. Something about how one time you crashed at her house and you kept muttering my name in your sleep? I’d love to know what the context of that dream was.”

 

“It's embarrassing, especially when another person is telling them.” Hux stuffed his hands into his pants pockets.

 

“I think it’s cute. I know we had crushes on each other but beyond that… I don’t have the fun little stories of the process from your end.”

 

“I technically don’t have yours either.”

 

“Maybe if you ask Santa he’ll bring you a whole list of them for Christmas.” Kylo smiled, making Hux roll his eyes. Yet he smiled too.

 

“Just… if anyone else ever comes around wanting to tell embarrassing stories can you please just let me tell them to you myself?”

 

“I’m sorry I didn’t do that in the first place, I didn’t know it bothered you so much.” Kylo frowned, dropping his arms to his sides and taking a step closer to Hux.

 

“Maybe I’ll actually tell you what that dream was about then.”  
  
“Yeah?” Kylo smirked, his left eyebrow lifting.

 

“It wasn't a sex dream you big horny dork.” Hux snorted and the door squeaked open behind them as he said it. His eyes widened and Kylo tried not to start laughing as another man glared at them. As soon as he turned away, Hux grabbed Kylo by the wrist and dragged him out of the bathroom and into the little hallway that they resided in.

 

“Holy fuck…” Hux laughed, pushing his fingers through his hair.

 

“He really wasn’t expecting that huh-”  
  
“No, it’s ironic. The dream… we were in the fitting room at some store, just making out against the mirror and we forgot the lock the damn door so someone walked in.”

 

Kylo looked at Hux with wide eyes,

 

“You’re shitting me.”

 

But Hux shook his head, mouth cracking into a smile.

 

“Can we seriously try that though?”  


Hux gave Kylo a bewildered look, but quickly realized that he wasn’t joking.

 

“I-”

 

“What are you two doing?” Phasma asked, appearing suddenly.

 

“Huh- Oh, sorry..” Kylo mumbled, letting his hand go to the small of Hux’s back as they walked back to the booth.

 

“So what, more stories?” Phasma asks, crossing her legs after she sat down. Hux quickly noticed the coffee in front of where he had been sitting earlier and was incredibly grateful for it.

 

“I was actually thinking of just letting Hux tell me them, when he feels the time is right.” Kylo gave a small smile.

 

“You can tell us stories about yourself however, considering you’ve been in Europe for years.” Hux suggests, causing Phasma to smile.

 

“Where do you want me to start?”

 

\--

 

Kylo and Hux had been wandering around Roddy’s Department Store for longer than they intended. The fitting rooms were all but occupied and the mall had no other options when it came to fitting rooms that one could enter without needing the assistance of a employee.

 

“Can’t we just wait in a line?” Kylo asks, letting his hand brush along a rack of red sweaters as they walked past. He stopped, taking a step back to actually pull out one of the sweaters and held it up to show Hux,

 

“Do you like this?” He asks, watching as Hux examined it,

 

“For me or for you?”

 

“You.”

 

“Yes, actually... “

 

Kylo hung it back on the rack,

 

“Not that you wouldn’t look good in absolutely anything.”

 

“Hush.”

 

“No.”

 

“It’s just very much opposite of the things I’ve been mentally keeping track of that I’d like to see you in.” Hux shrugs and turns on his heel before Kylo can see his expression. Kylo feels his cheeks heat up,

 

“Really?”

 

Hux nods, pinning his own hands behind his back as he started walking again. Kylo quickly trailed after him.

 

“I'll put one of them on if you let us go do that dream that we came here to fulfill in the first place.”

 

“It’s intriguing, however I think making you wait is just more fun.”

 

“How do you go from your normal self to this so quickly?” Kylo huffs, much to Hux’s amusement

 

“You make it easy baby, trust me.” 


	11. Christmas Kisses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo and Hux celebrate Christmas 
> 
> (Special holiday chapter)

“Huuuu-uhhux.” Kylo said in a singsong voice, nuzzling his nose under Hux’s ear. Hux groaned in a still half-asleep slumber.

“I’ll call Santa and tell him to take your presents back.” Kylo teased, crawling on top of him. 

“You don’t know Santa’s number.” Hux mumbled, his eyes half open. 

“You don’t know that.” 

“Well I cant get up with you on top of me.” Hux said and Kylo quickly moved, sitting back on his feet. 

Hux sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes before looking at Kylo and speaking again,

“Get back here you dork.” 

Kylo smiled and leaned over, their mouths meeting in a gentle kiss. 

“Merry Christmas.” Kylo mutters against his lips, their noses bumping together. 

“Merry Christmas to you too.” Hux smiled, pushing the blankets off of his body. It had been two months since they started dating and Hux was getting more used to waking up with someone in his bed. In fact, the nights that they spent apart were nights where he found it increasingly harder to actually fall asleep. 

Kylo produced two santa hats, seemingly out of nowhere and pulled one snuggly onto Hux’s head before pulling his own on. He grabbed Hux’s hand and tugged him into the main living area of the apartment. 

They had decorated two weeks prior, getting ornaments and string lights from the dollar store. There was a small tree tucked into the corner of the room, a random decorative reindeer that Kylo has insisted on getting placed on the coffee table alongside a cinnamon scented candle which had already been lit. Under the tree we’re a few wrapped gifts. Hux’s wrapping looked straight out of a Christmas catalogue while Kylo’s looked like he had struggled quite a bit but Hux thought it was cute. 

“Here, I want you to open first.” Kylo grinned, handing off a stack of two presents before sitting down on the floor in front of the tree. Hux joined him, placing the gifts on the floor. He picked one up that was slightly large and had a bit of weight to it. Tearing it opening with care he discarded the blue wrapping paper off to the side and realized he was staring at the back of a frame. He flipped it around and his lips immediately parted in a state of surprise. A litter of drawings stared back at him, some of just himself, some of him and Kylo together all drawn in elegant, black ink. 

“These are beautiful…” Hux said softly, looking back up at Kylo who gave him a sheepish grin,

“Yeah?” 

“Yeah Kylo I didnt- I had no clue you could draw like this.” He shook his head before setting the art down in his lap. 

“It’s easy when the subject is already a work of art.” 

It was so cliche, but his cheeks still flushed at the compliment anyways. A small smile lingered on his lips as he sliced open the other wrapping paper with his finger. Again he discarded the paper and studied a journal with a blue and gold designed cover. 

“A journal?” Hux asked, feeling the smooth top of it with his thumb. 

“Nope, remember how you said you wanted stories? I wrote as many as I could think of in there.” 

Hux’s eyes widened as he cracked open the book to a random page, eyes gliding over the scrawled words that lined the paper. 

“Fuck..” He whispered, trying to blink away the moisture forming in his eyes.

“Huh?” Kylo questioned, but Hux looked up at him with a smile,

“Just realizing how lucky I am… come here.” Hux put the gifts on the ground next to him and pulled Kylo into a tight hug. 

“I love you Hux.” Kylo said quietly before pulling back. 

“I love you too Kylo.” He responded before grabbing Kylo’s gifts and handing them to him. He watched excitedly as he opened it and noticed a blush creep up his neck. 

“Hey, you said no sex toys.” Kylo whined, making Hux laugh. 

“That is not a sex toy! No matter how tempted I was…” 

Kylo picked up the sheer, black robe that was decorated with embroidered gold and dark red flowers. 

“This is beautiful.” Kylo grinned, running a hand over the smooth fabric. 

“I want you to put it on later.” Hux traced the lines of wood the ran along the floor with his finger.

“Oh I’d love too.” Kylo laid it back neatly in the box and set it aside. He picked up the red gift bag and removed the white tissue paper. From the bag he removed a plush fox wearing a green striped scarf. 

“It’s you!” Kylo said excitedly, examining it before pulling it into his chest. 

“I know nights alone suck so I thought you might like to have that to sleep with.” He have a small shrug, making a quiet noise of surprise when their mouths met suddenly. 

“I love it so much, thank you.” He gave him a short kiss before pulling away, the plushie still plastered to his chest. 

Hux got up and threw the paper into the trash.

“What are our plans for New Years?” Kylo questioned, playing with the fox’s scarf with his fingers.

“Well, what would you like to do?” Hux asked.

“Make our for hours?” 

Hux laughed,

“We can do that whenever you know.” He bent down and captured Kylo’s bottom lip with his thumb. 

“Now?” Kylo asked hopefully. 

“Only if you put that robe on.” Hux smirked, watching as Kylo’s eyes brightened.

“We never bought any mistletoe you know.” 

“I don’t need a plant as an excuse to kiss you baby. Besides, I’ll happily kiss you next to the tree instead.”


End file.
